FIA condemns online abuse of stewards after Colapinto's Dutch GP drive-through penalty

The FIA issued a formal condemnation of online abuse targeting its race stewards on Monday, after a drive-through penalty handed to Alpine’s Franco Colapinto at the Dutch Grand Prix sparked a wave of harassment across social media. Alpine’s own accounts were also targeted by a vocal section of Colapinto’s Argentine fanbase.

Colapinto and Racing Bulls rookie Arvid Lindblad were both penalised for overtaking under double-waved yellow flags on lap one at Zandvoort. The yellows were triggered by a significant crash involving Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, which neutralised the final marshal sector of the lap. Colapinto completed an overtake on Racing Bulls’ Yuki Tsunoda coming out of the circuit’s final corner, while Lindblad drafted past Alpine’s Pierre Gasly before the start/finish line — both moves occurring as the yellow flags were displayed.

In their verdict, the stewards acknowledged the difficult circumstances. “Car 43 was behind Car 22 entering Turn 14 and overtook Car 22 in the double yellow flag sector before the line at the end of Lap 1,” they wrote. “Normally, such infringement requires a 10-second stop/go penalty, but the Stewards acknowledge the complications caused by the significant amount of debris on track at this point and take this into account as mitigating circumstances.” An identically worded ruling was issued for Lindblad.

Colapinto described his penalty as “extremely harsh”, arguing the overtake on Tsunoda occurred a split second after the flags appeared. Under the FIA’s rulebook, however, safety-related infractions are treated with particular seriousness, making both penalties clear-cut by the letter of the regulations.

The controversy intensified when Mercado Libre, Colapinto’s Argentine sponsor, publicly attacked the stewards’ integrity. Sean Summers, the company’s chief marketing officer, wrote on social media: “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.” The post amplified the backlash, with stewards subsequently receiving abusive and threatening messages.

Alpine moved to distance itself from the criticism on Monday. “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,” the team said in a statement. The team’s accounts had themselves been targeted by fans who felt Alpine had not done enough to defend Colapinto.

The FIA’s public response underlines the governing body’s growing concern about the treatment of its officials, a pattern that has emerged at several points during the 2025 season.