Russell Opens Up About 'Merciless' Hate And Negativity He Sees On Social Media

Monday, 15 July 2024 at 18:00

Mercedes driver George Russell discussed his approach to the hateful comments from F1 fans he increasingly sees on social media.

Formula One has grown extremely fast over the last couple of years, and one of the main catalysts for its uptrend has been its strong presence on social media.

All the F1 teams, drivers, (most of) team principals, and mechanics, as well as all the circuits and F1 itself, have their own social media accounts.

Social media is a great place for sharing the latest news, videos, fun moments, interviews, and growing relationships with fans. However, there is one downside.

F1 fans often write very harsh and offensive comments that may hurt the ones they are directed at. In one of his most recent interviews, George Russell opened up about his relationship with social media platforms and the fans he sees on them.

"I like seeing all the memes and jokes, everything that's positive is fun. But there's another side to it. There's so much hate and negativity. It's almost impossible not to see that. That's why I deleted all my accounts for a long time."

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"Now I manage my accounts together with my team, but I've turned off all notifications. All I do is forward my content."

A technique called "post and ghost" (upload your post and leave the app) is popular amongst drivers, as reading hateful comments can be quite self-destructive.

Many drivers, including Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo, and others, have been quite open about avoiding reading what people write about them. The 26-year-old Mercedes driver added:

"The first reaction you see is always negative. Instagram, for example, shows the most liked comment. It doesn't matter what it's about, but about 50 percent of those reactions are negative. I find that hard to understand."

"You already see people in the spotlight - actors, musicians, and footballers - going off social media for mental problems. If you're not in that situation yourself, you don't know how merciless the negativity can be."