“I’ve lost trust in the sport today,” Disabled fan SLAMS F1 over ‘unacceptable’ treatment at Canadian GP

A disabled F1 fan had a disastrous experience at the Canadian GP.

“I’ve lost trust in the sport today,” Disabled fan SLAMS F1 over ‘unacceptable’ treatment at Canadian GP

A shot of the main straight ot the Canadia GP

Formula 1 is a global sport with millions of fans across the world. The sport has aimed to promote inclusivity in recent years to provide a great experience for people across different communities. Access for disabled individuals is a crucial aspect of any event. However, it turns out that F1 has massively failed in this regard at the Canadian GP.

On Twitter, a fan named Michelle Beck shared his experience during Qualifying with his wife. Michelle is diagnosed with fibromyalgia. As such, the wet weather at the race was disastrous for Beck as it massively aggravated his illness. The couple went to ask the organizers for accessible spots outside in the rain. The information team argued that they should have purchased wheelchair-accessible tickets—certainly, not something one would expect from Formula 1.

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Michelle made it clear that he did not require a wheelchair. Shockingly, the team told him that he wasn’t disabled if he didn’t need a wheelchair. Unfortunately, the manager refused to listen to Beck or to understand the problem. Michelle was simply instructed that he should have reviewed the official website’s information. Subsequently, Beck said, “I’ve lost trust in the sport today.”

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F1 Grand Prix is not for the disabled

An overhead shot during Free Practice 1 at the Canadian GP
An overhead shot during Free Practice 1 at the Canadian GP

Beck mentioned that to truly have a Grand Prix experience that accounts for the disabled; one must spend over $1000. That is unacceptable when it comes to such a major event. Michelle was frustrated after this exhausting and disappointing day at the pinnacle of motorsport. Accordingly, the main race is not looking any better for an important fan of the sport.

All in all, this was a shameful incident for the sport. F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali must take action swiftly and identify the problems in this situation to prevent such a scenario. There are millions of fans like Michelle who dearly love the sport and spend hundreds if not thousands, of dollars to attend a Grand Prix. As such, the sport needs to become more inclusive and take action to make for more accessible races in the future.

Thus, this was an unfortunate incident faced by Michelle Beck and his wife, Clara. The two had a nightmare at an event that they looked forward to for weeks beforehand. It remains to be seen if F1 and the FIA will take action to prevent such unacceptable treatment in the future or whether things stay the same at the pinnacle of motorsport.

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