Australian F1 driver Doohan calls for online abuse to stop

Australian  Formula One driver Jack Doohan has pleaded for online abuse of his family to stop after being targeted on social media.

The 22-year-old, son of former motorcycling world champion Mick Doohan, was this month dropped by the Alpine team after only six races.

He was replaced by Argentina's Franco Colapinto, who finished 16th at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix in Italy on Sunday following a big crash in qualifying.

Writing to his nearly 500,000 followers on Instagram, Doohan said a fake post attributed to his father had been created on there to paint the elder Doohan in a bad light.

"Please stop harassing my family. I didn't think I would have to get to this point," Doohan wrote on Instagram alongside a screenshot of what he said was the fake post.

It showed a picture of Colapinto after a crash and Doohan senior supposedly commenting, "Very impressive".

"Multiple Argentine outlets falsely reported the fabricated image, which triggered the online abuse of my family," Doohan, now a reserve driver for Alpine, wrote.

A separate Alpine statement also called for an end to the abuse.

"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," the team wrote.

"As a team, we cannot condone online abuse and urge all fans of this sport we love to be kind and respectful."

The next race is in Monaco this weekend.