Austrian GP: Lewis Hamilton hopes no repeat of 2022 crowd trouble and urges F1 to take ‘strong stance’ over any issues

Lewis Hamilton says he hopes last year’s crowd trouble at the Austrian Grand Prix was a “one-off” and has urged Formula 1 to take a “strong stance” against any similar issues in future.

Formula 1 returns to the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg this weekend, almost a year on from when the 2022 race was marred by accusations of sexist catcalling, inappropriate touching of female fans and homophobic and racist abuse.

Last year’s race was – and is once more expected to be – heavily attended by Dutch fans following world champion Max Verstappen. Many of the accusations were made in reference to the stands in which those fans were gathered.

Later in July 2022, F1 launched a Drive It Out campaign aimed at reducing abuse, both at events and online, and called for greater respect for both fans and drivers.

Hamilton, who criticised members of the crowd for cheering when he crashed his Mercedes in Qualifying at last year’s race, says he “definitely” does not want a repeat of what happened in 2022.

“Especially coming to such a beautiful place, it was definitely sad to hear what happened last year,” the seven-time world champion continued.

“I do know that Formula 1 has taken action to make some changes here this weekend but I still feel there is work that needs to be done.

“Ultimately, potentially the same group of people could turn up and we just need to be very strong in our stance of how we expect people to be within this space that’s inclusive for anybody.

“I hope last year was a one off, fingers crossed.”

Verstappen, who holds a 69-point lead at the top of the drivers’ standings as he seeks a third successive title, offered a message of caution for his supporters.

“Don’t get too drunk,” the Red Bull driver said. “Just watch the race, enjoy.

“It will be good to see them. It’s always nice to see the orange colour next to the track.”

Hamilton: Positive that F1’s demographics changing

Hamilton has been a leading figure in attempting to make F1 more diverse, both in terms of those working in and following the sport.

In 2019, the 38-year-old started the Hamilton Commission after noticing the lack of diversity at the end-of-season photo that year.

“I think the demographic is shifting a little bit and I think that’s a positive,” Hamilton said.

“We’ve got younger people now getting into the sport, we have a lot more women now interested in the sport from a viewing point but also engineers. Our head strategist here, she’s bad ass and hasn’t been here since 2019 so it’s great to have her here.

“We’ve got a long, long way to go in terms of creating better accessibility here within our sport. It’s changing but very, very slow.

“It’s amazing to see all these different places we’re going just how excited about it people are – Montreal was the biggest crowd I’ve ever seen there and Barcelona was also.

“We’re really starting to see people even more excited about the sport than they ever have been, what’s the bad thing about that?”

Sky Sports F1’s live Austrian GP schedule

Friday June 30
8.50am: F3 Practice
10am: F2 Practice
12pm: Austrian GP Practice (session starts 12.30)
1.55pm: F3 Qualifying
2.50pm: F2 Qualifying
3.30pm: Austrian GP Qualifying build-up
4pm: Austrian GP Qualifying
6pm: Ted’s Qualifying Notebook

Saturday July 1
8.55am: F3 Sprint
10.30am: Austrian GP Sprint Shootout build-up
11am: Austrian GP Sprint Shootout
12.40pm: F2 Sprint
2.30pm: Austrian GP Sprint build-up
3.30pm: Austrian GP Sprint
5pm: Ted’s Sprint Notebook

Sunday July 2
7.20am: F3 Feature Race
8.50am: F2 Feature Race
12.30pm: Grand Prix Sunday Austrian GP build-up
2pm: The AUSTRIAN GRAND PRIX
4pm: Chequered Flag: Austrian GP reaction
5pm: Ted’s Notebook

Red Bull seek to continue their winning run in 2023 as they return to their home track for the Austrian GP – watch live on Sky Sports F1 from June 30-July 2. Get Sky Sports