Exclusive: Hungarian Police ‘started legal process’ after British photographer was assaulted at GP

Multiple instances of fan abuse have been reported in recent weeks.

The Hungaroring has confirmed to Formula1News.co.uk that the police intervened quickly on site during the Hungarian Grand Prix weekend after an incident involving a security officer.

Mark Thompson, a veteran photographer in Formula 1, got into an altercation with a member of the security team at the event during Friday practice.

The Briton posted two pictures online, the first being of the officer squaring up to him, while the second appeared to show the officer having struck Thompson in the face.

The photographer had a cut to his lip as a result, and that debacle was joined by another incident involving spectators at the event.

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Max Verstappen fans appeared to burn Sir Lewis Hamilton’s merchandise during the weekend after the tense rivalry between the pair last season as they battled for the championship.

There had been booing of Verstappen at the British Grand Prix, as well as more burning of Hamilton’s merchandise in Austria, while some fans reported discriminatory abuse and sexual harassment in Spielberg.

In amongst all this, former race director Michael Masi recently revealed the horrifying death threats he received for his part in the controversial end to last season that saw Verstappen snatch the title from Hamilton in Abu Dhabi.

Formula 1 introduced an initiative in Hungary, where members of the LGBTQ+ community are criminalised, encouraging fans to report any abuse they see or hear, and they asserted that any fans perpetrating such abuse are not welcome in the sport.

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CEO Stefano Domenicali was clear in his message that there is “no space for idiots in the world.”

READ: ‘That’s disgusting’: Max Verstappen slams his own fans

“There’s no discussion about this, no compromise,” he told Sky Sports.

“I think that it is a message that it was great to see that everyone embraced it immediately.

“I have to say the beauty of our sport is that we can control it, as you can see back again on the grandstand, lots of kids and lots of family – and it’s good to see different camps all mixed up. So that’s the real Formula 1 we want to see.

“There’s no space for idiots in the world, of course, if someone is behaving in a [bad] way, [the response is] going to be very, very, very, very strong.”

As for the incident involving Thompson and the member of security, who works for Valton Security, the Hungaroring replied to Formula1News.co.uk two weeks after they were initially asked for a comment.

“The police took the necessary steps, heard the interested parties and started the legal process already onsite,” they said in a statement.

No further comment was given, and Valton Security also refused to provide a statement on the matter.