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Aston Martin driver Sebastian Vettel has expressed his agitation with the abusive behaviour displayed during the 2022 Austrian GP. The fans at the Red Bull Ring were seen cheering when Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton crashed his car during the qualifying for the sprint race. Vettel wants the authorities to take action against such behaviour taking place in Formula 1.

The German racer accepts that people come to races for enjoyment and some may end up drinking, but no amount of alcohol justifies the abusive behaviour displayed in Spielberg. “Horrible, isn’t it? I think it is good that this stuff comes out, that’s the start, but it is horrible,” Vettel said. 

“Whoever these people are, they should be ashamed of themselves and they should be banned from racing events for their lives. I think there should be zero tolerance. If people have a good time and drink too much that’s OK, but it doesn’t justify or excuse wrong behaviour. We race as one, so, the fans are a part of that,” he continued. 

Formula One also released a statement addressing the incident which spoke about how this type of behaviour is unacceptable and will not be tolerated. “We have been made aware of reports that some fans have been subject to completely unacceptable comments by others at the event,” Formula 1’s statement read.

“We have raised this with the promoter and security and will be speaking to those who have reported these incidents and are taking this very seriously. This kind of behaviour is unacceptable and will not be tolerated and all fans should be treated with respect,” it added.

The home team, Red Bull, was disappointed with the happening and posted a message on social media. Their statement said,  “We are shocked to hear that there have been some incidents of abusive behaviour in the grandstands and the fan parks. This is completely unacceptable and we hope that security and the authorities deal with this swiftly as there is no place for it in racing or society as a whole. We value inclusion and want a safe space for fans to enjoy our sport.”