Race superstar Lewis Hamilton was at the center of racial attacks online after his eighth British Grand Prix victory.
On Sunday, Hamilton defeated rival Max Verstappen in a tense race that resulted in a collision that left Verstappen hospitalized. Hamilton was hit with a 10-second penalty for the crash and two points on his license. He was determined to be “predominantly at fault” for the accident.
Following the controversial race, Facebook says it was forced to remove a large number of comments on its platform and Instagram that were racist attacks on the racer, who is also a Black Lives Matter activist.
The abuse also made its way to Twitter, forcing them to take action as well.
“We have clear abusive behavior and hateful conduct policies in place, and we take enforcement of these policies very seriously,” a Twitter spokesperson explained to CNN Sport.
Hamilton currently competes in Formula One for Mercedes. Toto Wolff, Mercedes team principal, released a statement on Monday saying that the racial attacks of Hamilton were “absolutely not acceptable.”
Lewis Hamilton has not publicly commented on the online abuse.
