Pierre Gasly has condemned the online threats and abuse directed at him, his family and his girlfriend following his on-track situation with Alpine team-mate Franco Colapinto during the Spanish Grand Prix in Madrid. The fallout has now prompted Flavio Briatore to warn that Colapinto could be withdrawn from interviews with Argentine television if the behaviour continues.
The controversy stems from the closing stages of the Madring race, when the faster Colapinto caught Gasly while the two Alpine drivers were running different strategies. Gasly did not immediately move aside, leading to a frustrated radio reaction from the Argentine, although Colapinto still went on to finish seventh while Gasly crossed the line in 12th place.
Pierre Gasly condemns online abuse after Colapinto incident
During the race, Gasly found himself ahead of Colapinto, who in turn had Oscar Piastri close behind. Despite being on a different strategy, the Frenchman did not give way to his team-mate, creating a tense moment within Alpine and prompting an angry radio message from Colapinto.
Although the situation did not ultimately cost Colapinto seventh place, Gasly subsequently became the target of a wave of hostile social-media messages.
Speaking ahead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku, Pierre Gasly revealed that some of those messages went far beyond criticism of his driving and were instead aimed at people close to him.
“Personally, I find it very disturbing. I’m a top-level athlete, so I’m aware that I’m exposed. But I find the scale of the threats and online abuse completely disproportionate, especially because they involved members of my family and my girlfriend.”
“It shouldn’t happen. It wasn’t like this in the past. There is a line that should not be crossed just because you are behind a screen and a keyboard.”
Franco Colapinto responds to abuse aimed at Gasly
Franco Colapinto also addressed the situation in Baku, saying he had not personally seen most of the messages because he does not spend much time on social media.
“I think Pierre received a lot of messages, but I didn’t see them because I don’t use social media very much. It’s never nice to receive them, especially because it concerns the team I race for.”
The Argentine stressed that his relationship with Gasly remains positive and that both drivers share the same objective of helping Alpine improve.
“We are team-mates, we get on very well and we have the same goal, which is to improve Alpine. I hope they can stop all this.”
Colapinto also pointed to previous incidents involving abuse directed at others in Formula 1.
“It happened with Yuki Tsunoda last year as well. And it also happened at Zandvoort with the stewards who penalised me. It happens often with fans in F1, just as it does in other sports. It’s something very common.”
“It shouldn’t happen and I hope it doesn’t happen again. It’s not only my fans.”
Flavio Briatore threatens Franco Colapinto media blackout
Flavio Briatore took a much stronger position when discussing the situation with ESPN Argentina, directly warning sections of Colapinto’s fanbase that Alpine could restrict the driver’s media appearances if the online abuse continues.
“If the situation continues like this, Franco will stop speaking to Argentine television. In fact, he will stop speaking to everyone,” the Alpine executive adviser said.
Briatore then directed his message specifically towards Argentine supporters, urging them to back Colapinto without attacking other drivers or their families.
“I’m saying this especially to the Argentines, because there are no problems with the Italians or with others. If they want to support Franco, they have to do it in a respectful and fair way, not like what I’m seeing on social media.”
The warning brings another dimension to the fallout from Madrid. What began as an on-track disagreement between two Alpine team-mates has now developed into a broader issue over online behaviour, with Gasly making clear that criticism of a driver cannot justify threats against relatives or partners.
Colapinto has distanced himself from the abuse and reiterated that he and Gasly remain united in their objective of improving Alpine, while Briatore has made clear that the team is prepared to take action if the situation surrounding its drivers does not improve.
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