Alpine has published an open letter to fans after the Japanese GP, in which the team responds to the hate it is receiving via social media following the incident between Franco Colapinto and Oliver Bearman. The race was startled by a heavy crash in the Spoon curve, where Bearman hit the barriers with an impact of 50G. In the aftermath of the crash, not only Colapinto, but also Alpine were victims of much online abuse.
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The incident led to much discussion in the paddock. The FIA did not intervene with penalties, but did acknowledge that the situation – caused by Colapinto’s car recovering energy at that moment – will be the subject of further analysis. In this regard, discussions are being held with involved parties about possible adjustments to the rules. The public reaction, however, was much more intense. Online, Colapinto in particular faced a lot of criticism, partly because the Argentine was already involved in an incident with Esteban Ocon in Shanghai. Reason enough for Alpine to once again strongly condemn the online abuse and protect their driver.
Alpine Reaction
“After reviewing social media, we as a team feel we owe it to our fans to address certain points and questions and to speak out once again against hate and online abuse,” Alpine opens on its website. “The team condemns the hateful messages addressed to Franco after the race in Japan, as well as the insults and threats towards Esteban Ocon after a collision between both drivers during the Chinese GP. The team closely monitors its channels and uses various tools to moderate comments that do not comply with our guidelines. As a team, we also regularly discuss this with FOM and the FIA.”
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Alpine also directly addressed rumors that Pierre Gasly was being favored within the team. Some fanatical fans of Colapinto suspected in recent weeks that the Argentine did not have the same equipment. “The team strives to bring two cars onto the track that are as fast as possible and to offer both drivers equal opportunities to be competitive,” said Alpine. “Franco is our driver and the team has confidence in him, just as he has confidence in the team. All discussions about sabotage or not providing equal resources are completely unfounded. Therefore, the team felt compelled to issue a statement about this.”
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