The FIA has drawn a firm line under the backlash surrounding Franco Colapinto’s Dutch Grand Prix penalties, condemning the online abuse aimed at its stewards after the Alpine driver’s controversial afternoon at Zandvoort.
What began as frustration over two sporting sanctions quickly spilled beyond the usual post-race criticism.
Colapinto himself questioned the severity of the decisions, while sections of his fanbase directed abuse at the officials responsible. The reaction then escalated when Sean Summers, chief marketing officer of Colapinto’s principal sponsor Mercado Libre, publicly questioned the integrity of the FIA’s stewards.
The governing body has now responded, making clear that disagreement with its decisions is one thing, but personal attacks and threats against officials are another.
Colapinto’s first penalty came on the opening lap, when he completed an overtake on Yuki Tsunoda under double-waved yellow flags following Max Verstappen’s crash.
Arvid Lindblad received an identical drive-through for a similar infringement, but Colapinto’s punishment effectively destroyed what had been a promising start to his race.
The Argentine later received a second penalty – a 10-second sanction for failing to slow sufficiently for a single yellow flag – and finished only 14th.
Colapinto questions the stewards
Colapinto did not hide his frustration, arguing that the circumstances surrounding the first incident demanded greater flexibility from the stewards.
"It was the drive-through that compromised the whole of our race. I made a very good start and I was up there in the points. Yeah, just tricky, I think,” he said.
"Tricky to judge in those conditions when you're fighting on lap one, making a move and it's all wet and damp and on the banking, and there are parts of the car flying around.
“I saw a very, very late yellow flag when I was finishing my overtake, and it was clearly much more dangerous to slam on the brakes and accelerate in the middle of the straight, on the banking and on the wet, when everyone was spinning. So it's a very tricky one.
"I feel that even though the rules are written, they should be much more flexible and they should have the criteria to also understand what's safer or a bit more unsafe. If someone is going 30km/h slower in the same part of the track, you're overtaking them and a yellow flag comes in, there's not a lot you can do. It's very tricky to react to that."
Asked whether the stewards should have shown greater leniency, Colapinto doubled down.
"I feel they have been extremely harsh, I mean, it's their job, but it's also their job to be a bit flexible and understand the situation,” he said.
"I think especially what is more dangerous than the other, when the grip is so low and the conditions are like that. To me, it's just a bit harsh. I think for both, for me and Lindblad, but especially a drive-through, it kills your race. It feels too much, but it is what it is."
FIA pushes back against abuse
Colapinto’s criticism, however, was followed by a reaction considerably more explosive than anything the driver himself had said.
Sean Summers, Mercado Libre’s chief marketing officer, publicly tagged the FIA on X and delivered a blunt assessment of the stewards’ performance.
"The Stewards are killing the integrity of F1. This season they are proving to be horrible and impacting race results. Incompetence? Dishonesty? Both? Something is seriously broken in that organisation's culture,” he said.
Those comments added fuel to an already heated online reaction, with FIA officials subsequently subjected to targeted abuse and threats.
The FIA’s United Against Online Abuse Coalition has now intervened, stressing that sporting officials should not become targets simply because fans disagree with their decisions.
"Following the Dutch Grand Prix, FIA stewards were targeted with online abuse after applying sporting penalties in line with FIA regulations,” the governing body stated.
"The United Against Online Abuse Coalition condemns all forms of abuse and harassment. Disagreement with decisions is part of sport, but it must never justify threats or personal attacks.
"In 2023, the FIA launched the United Against Online Abuse Coalition after a steward faced targeted abuse following the United States Grand Prix. We urge everyone engaging with our sport to do so with respect and responsibility, online and offline."
The FIA is understood to be exploring possible legal options in response to the abuse.
Meanwhile, Alpine itself has distanced the team from the more aggressive criticism while acknowledging that it considered the penalties harsh.
“As a team, we work closely with the sport’s governing body on the rules of engagement on track to ensure fair and exciting racing and, most importantly, safety,” read the Enstone squad’s statement.
“We fully trust the FIA and the Stewards when it comes to the policing of these rules and the application of sporting penalties during a live race scenario.
“We believe the penalties applied for Yellow Flag Infringements during the opening laps of the Dutch Grand Prix were indeed harsh, but acknowledge they fit the punishment based on the letter of the law and were consistently applied across all competitors and is something we can review and learn from as a team.”
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The controversy therefore leaves two separate debates in its wake: whether the stewards got the balance right in exceptionally difficult conditions, and where the line should be drawn when criticism of those decisions turns into abuse.
For the FIA, that second question is no longer up for debate.
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