McLaren F1 chief stands by Alex Dunne as he tearfully recounts online hate after Monaco crash

Formula 2 driver Alex Dunne, who is part of the McLaren Driver Development Programme, has opened up about the online hate he received after his first-lap crash with Victor Martins led to an 11-car pileup in Monaco last week. After posting on social media after the race, hateful comments forced him to delete the apps from his phone altogether.

The Irish driver recounted the online abuse during a press conference in Barcelona today. He commented, emotionally:

 "I think I got a lot of stuff after Monaco. I think normally I'm not someone that reads things and gets annoyed about it, but I think an hour after the race, I just deleted all of social media off of my phone because I've never received such bad messages in my life.

"I think a lot of the stuff I got was really, really bad and quite upsetting to be honest."

While speaking to the media following qualifying for the Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix, McLaren team principal Andrea Stella reaffirmed his support for the young driver. He said:

"Alex is doing very, very well. He's a very fast driver, very talented. And the situation he had in Monaco is one of those situations where you can learn a lot.

"If you think about multiple world champions, they went through situations which were very important in order to fine-tune the way they go racing. We had actually a good conversation with Alex to reaffirm the complete support to his talent, to his speed, to the championship that he's fighting for. And we always see a very mature person.

Second place Alex Dunne, Rodin Motorsport

Photo by: Formula Motorsport Ltd

"I think the way he raced today, the way he managed to overtake cars in a very clean way in the first lap, then stay calm, see how the situation would have evolved. I'm talking about the race this morning. And then capitalise when the opportunity came.

"It was an immediate response to the situation he had in Monaco. The pressure that came from these social media comments, for me that's something that makes me very proud of him. I think he was genuine."

Stella added:

"I think we need to realise that we live in a difficult world in which people can attack other people with no foundation, sometimes no competence. So we are completely behind Alex, not only on track, but also off track from this point of view.

"I just felt a little bit for him, but I also felt very proud of him in showing his reaction, being genuine, natural. But we need to think all, and I think for me even a call to our sense of responsibility overall, even you guys that have the pen. I think we need to make sure that in anything we do, we try to avoid a situation that can be too controversial.

"I'm not referring to the situation with Alex. I don't know what was written in the media. I know what was written in the comments.Just a sense of responsibility is the main call I would like to make."