F1 commentator suspended after insulting Stroll live on air

Lionel Froissart, a French-language commentator who works for Belgian channel RTBF Sport, referred to Aston Martin driver Stroll as “the autistic” during their live coverage of last Sunday’s Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring. 

Co-commentator Gaetan Vigneron quickly criticised Froissart on air, saying: “That’s too strong. You are going too far,” to which Froissart replied: “Honestly, this is the truth.” 

After the exchange was shared across social media, RTBF released a statement condemning the words used while confirming that Froissart had been suspended. 

"RTBF strongly condemns the words used on Sunday, July 10, on air by its consultant Lionel Froissart during the Austrian Grand Prix,” the statement read. 

"Associating autism with a driver’s way of communicating was misplaced and completely inconsistent with RTBF values. An internal investigation will be conducted, to hear all the involved persons.

"The goal is to understand in detail what could have led to this incident. Pending the results of this investigation, RTBF will no longer work with the consultant in question until further notice.”

Stroll finished the Spielberg race 13th. The Canadian sits 19th in the world championship after scoring just three points in the first 11 races of the season.