Alpine and FIA condemn online and racist abuse towards Yuki Tsunoda after incident with Colapinto

The return of Franco Colapinto to Formula 1 as a main driver, replacing Jack Doohan for the next five (now four) races at Alpine, was met with enthusiasm by Argentinian F1 fans. However, some took it to the extreme, and after a minor incident involving Colapinto and Red Bull driver Yuki Tsunoda on FP1 at Emilia Romagna last week, some fans hurled insults and abuse, including racist slurs, towards the Japanese drivers (via Motorsport).

The situation led Alpine, as well as governing body FIA to issue an statement: "We encourage everyone to remember that behind the visor of these superhuman athletes there is a person, an individual with feelings, family, friends and loved ones. As a team, we cannot condone online abuse and urge all fans of this sport we love, to be kind and respectful."

The incident happened on Friday, when Colapinto impeded several drivers as he got back up to speed on his F1 return with Alpine. Tsunoda, in particular, gesticulated angrily, and Colapinto himself said that Tsunoda was right to be upset.

FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem added that "I stand in full support of Yuki Tsunoda and Franco Colapinto, and I thank them for speaking out against the growing issue of online abuse in motorsport."

In other Alpine related news, we learnt recently that the brother of former Alpine's principal who resigned this week was arrested with "large amounts of cash".