Arrow McLaren announced on Thursday that it had terminated a commercial agreement with Juncos Hollinger Racing due to fan threats towards McLaren driver Theo Pourchaire.
Pourchaire made contact with Juncos Hollinger’s Agustín Canapino during the IndyCar Series Detroit Grand Prix on Sunday. After the incident, Pourchaire, a former F1 reserve driver, said he had received death threats from Canapino fans.
I am saddened to have received so much hate and death threats in the last 24 hours for such a small incident at the Detroit GP.
I hope people can understand that we are all human and can make mistakes. But it’s not normal to abuse people online.
Please be kind to each other https://t.co/JWKU2IYEFF
– Théo Pourchaire (@TPourchaire) June 3, 2024
Canapino, a 24-year-old Argentine, issued a statement Monday saying he was “against abuse and hate” and that “those who engage in such behavior are certainly not part of our community and are not welcome here.”
However, he said he had never seen a death threat directed at a competitor.
“I have not seen a single death threat directed at those who claim to have received them,” Canapino said. “From last year to today, no one in their right mind would do something like that. It is outrageous that they accuse me of this so lightly and I will not allow it anymore. If someone did this, he is not a part of us, and we do not deserve to be considered this way by some misfit that we firmly reject.”
I hope and pray that this is the first and last time I have to talk about this.
I hope and pray that this is the first and last time I have to talk about this. pic.twitter.com/5m6db2ctLS
— Agustín Canapino (@AgustinCanapino) June 4, 2024
The deal was made before the season so that McLaren could provide additional space for its sponsor inventory in Juncos Hollinger cars. Both teams use Chevrolet engines.
“This decision follows actions that occurred earlier this week on social media regarding an on-track incident at the Detroit Chevrolet Grand Prix,” McLaren said in its statement. “As reflected in the team’s social media community code, Arrow McLaren will not tolerate any form of abuse or discrimination and fully condemns online abuse directed at our team and driver.”
This week’s incident is not the first that has sparked online abuse from Canapino fans. Former Juncos Hollinger Racing driver Callum Ilott received hate messages from Canapino fans in 2023 after the drivers made contact in two different races.
Ilott left Juncos Hollinger at the end of the 2023 season and was replaced by Romain Grosjean. He raced in the Indianapolis 500 for Arrow McLaren in the number 6 car, the same car Pourchaire drove in Detroit.
Canapino is in his second season in the IndyCar Series and finished 21st in 2023. He is currently 20th in the standings and finished 12th in Detroit.