Doohan pleads "stop harassing my family" after fake social media post

Doohan, whose father Mick won five motorcycling world titles, is a reserve driver at the Alpine team after being replaced by Franco Colapinto six races into his debut Formula 1 season earlier this month.

The fake post made fun of Argentine Colapinto's crash in qualifying for the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix last weekend, his first outing since replacing Doohan.

"As you can clearly see, the story circulating above is completely false," Doohan posted on social media. "They edited the original content to make it appear as though my father posted it, which is entirely untrue.

"Please stop harassing my family. I didn't think it would have to get to this point," the former Alpine added.

Doohan initially blamed Argentine fans for the fake post but later clarified this assertion after those responsible for mocking up the image apologized and took it down.

Colapinto last weekend urged his fans to show respect to other drivers after he accidentally blocked Red Bull's Yuki Tsunoda in the first Friday practice at Imola.

The Japanese driver received a series of insulting comments online, many of them in Spanish, and suggested Formula 1 organizers might need to step in to curtail the abuse.

Alpine issued a statement on the matter: "As an F1 team, we believe we are fortunate to be part of a global sport that evokes great passion and emotions, with an ever-growing community of fans who enthusiastically follow their favourite drivers' every move, whether it be a brave overtake on track or what style they are sporting when they arrive in the paddock.

"We encourage everyone to remember that behind the visor of these superhuman athletes there is a person. An individual with feelings, family, friends and loved ones. As a team, we cannot condone online abuse and urge all fans of this sport we love to be kind and respectful," Alpine added.

FIA President commented as well, saying: "Motorsport is built on competition, passion, commitment, and every race driver takes to the track representing these values, the passion and excitement that we feel for our sport should unite us and never be twisted into abuse or hate.

"I stand in full support of Yuki Tsunoda and Franco Colapinto, and I thank them for speaking out against the growing issue of online abuse in motorsport.

"No one should be subjected to threats, hatred or discrimination. There is no place for abuse or toxicity in our community.

"Through the United Against Online Abuse campaign, we are taking decisive action - raising awareness, providing support and driving change.

"We are committed to safeguarding the wellbeing of everyone in our sport, and together we can build a safer, more respectful environment for all," Ben Sulayem concluded.

(Reporting by Nick Mulvenney, Additional reporting by GrandPrix247)