"Sadly, this is not new": Fans react to McLaren driver facing hate and death threats for an incident in IndyCar

Fans reacted to McLaren IndyCar driver Theo Pourchaire receiving negativity on social media for the incidents at the 2024 IndyCar Chevrolet Detroit GP. The Frenchman was involved in two incidents in both the race starts.

At the start of the race, Pourchaire was stuck in a three-wide battle down to the third turn. Since he had no space down the middle, his car bumped into Will Power's car, causing a chaotic incident that further involved six cars.

Later on, the race had to restart after another incident. In the race restarts, Pourchaire tried to move up the inside of Agustín Canapino on the same corner. On the other hand, Canapino moved towards the apex, closing the gap for Pourchaire. As a result, both their cars collided with each other.

Though the mild collision happened during a race restart, little was made out of the incident. After the race, however, Arrow McLaren released a statement that they would not allow any hate comments from fans on social media accounts. Pourchaire wrote on his X account that he received a lot of hate and death threats after what happened in the Detroit GP.

"I’m sad I received so much hate and death threats in the last 24 hours for such a small incident in the Detroit GP. I hope people can understand that we are all humans and we can make mistakes. But it’s not normal to abuse people online. Please be kind to each other," Pourchaire wrote.

Many fans consoled the McLaren IndyCar driver and sent positive messages to him to cheer him up. They urged Pourchaire to ignore hate comments and keep his head up for the rest of the 2024 IndyCar season.

Here are some of the comments:

"Sadly, this is not new from this group of fans. Thankfully your team supports you and speaks up, that doesn’t happen at all on F1. Ignore them, don’t let them get to you, because they literally have nothing better to do with their lives. Being hateful and nasty is all they do," a fan wrote.

"Head up Theo, nothing more than a 'sh*t happens' moment," another chimed in.

"Keep your head up Theo and f*** the noise," one fan cheered the McLaren driver up.

"I'm so sorry you had to deal with such cruel and nasty people. We love you Theo!" another fan added.

Since Agustine Canapino is an Argentinian racing driver, one Argentinian fan apologized to Pourchaire on behalf of other Argentinian fans who spewed hate comments.

"Theo, honestly I was angry with you for Sunday's incident because Agustín is a pilot for our country and we support him. But under no circumstances is such a reaction from a few so-called fans allowed. Apologies, on behalf of the Argentines who love car racing," a fan wrote.

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Arrow McLaren's statement addressing social media hate towards Theo Pourchaire for Detroit GP incidents

Following the chaotic 2024 IndyCar Detroit GP, McLaren IndyCar driver Theo Pourchaire stated that he received several hate and death-threat comments from a few fans. In response, Arrow McLaren, along with Juncos Hollinger Racing, issued a statement saying that the team will not tolerate any form of hate or abuse towards the team or its drivers.

The statement read:

"The past 24 hours have unfortunately provided our teams with a stark reminder about the necessity for respect and civility in our online interactions. Social media allows us to engage with our fans around the world, but it is important that we interact with each other in a respectful and safe environment. We will not tolerate any form of abuse or discrimination, and those participating in such actions are not welcome in our online community and will be blocked."

As of now, Theo Pourchaire stands in 23rd position in the 2024 IndyCar table with only 58 points.