FIA threatens to ban fans and media after revealing Gasly received 13,000 death threats

Ben Sulayem made the comments to The Drive during the United States Grand Prix weekend in Austin, as reported . This is the first time the governing body has openly said it could ban members of the media, not just fans, over abuse. It also puts Colapinto's Argentine fanbase back in the spotlight.

The FIA president was clearly frustrated by the scale of the abuse aimed at the Alpine driver. "Pierre Gasly had 13,000 threats on his life. 13,000!" he said, before setting out how the governing body intends to respond.

Ben Sulayem did not say how artificial intelligence would identify the people behind anonymous accounts, so it is not yet clear how that warning would work in practice. He also said the abuse has driven officials away from the sport: "We had a woman steward who was threatened to be killed and raped, so she said, 'it's not worth it.'" Spanish-language coverage of the interview reports that he linked the plan to the FIA's United Against Online Abuse campaign. The same reports say he insisted the governing body cannot tackle the problem without teams, drivers, media and fans.

Ben Sulayem also supported Flavio Briatore's warning from September. The Alpine boss threatened to stop Colapinto from speaking to the media if the abuse from his supporters continued. "If this continues, the moment will come when Franco stops speaking to Argentine television," Briatore told ESPN Argentina at the time. "He will stop speaking to everyone."

The FIA president suggested the drivers themselves should step in as well. "Not only the principal," Ben Sulayem said. "The F1 drivers have fans, and the drivers can say to the fans 'Stop, I don't want you to be my fan if you are not behaving, if you are using death threats.'"

The threats started after the closing laps of the Spanish Grand Prix at the Madring. Gasly spent almost the whole race on the hard tyres he started on and was still due to pit. He held up Colapinto while Oscar Piastri closed in from behind. Alpine never issued a team order, and Colapinto's frustrated radio messages spread quickly online.

Gasly pitted at the end of that lap, so Colapinto kept his position and finished seventh, while Gasly came home twelfth. Ahead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Gasly revealed that he, his girlfriend and other family members had been targeted, and he called the abuse "completely inappropriate". Colapinto has since asked his supporters to stop attacking rivals, and he has stepped away from social media to focus on his racing.