Red Bull have released a statement in which they “regret” comments which have led to Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli receiving death threats on social media.
In the final laps of Sunday’s Qatar Grand Prix, Antonelli made a mistake and veered off track, allowing Lando Norris to move up into fourth place and handing the McLaren driver two valuable points in the title race.
Max Verstappen’s race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase told his driver on team radio: “I am not sure what happened to Antonelli there - it looked like he just pulled over and let Lando through.” Red Bull adviser Helmut Marko also said post-race that it was “so obvious” that Antonelli had “waved” Norris through.
Antonelli, 19, has since received over one thousand abusive comments online, according to Mercedes, despite the fact the Italian quickly insisted in the media pen that he’d made a simple driving error. Mercedes boss Toto Wolff labelled criticism of Antonelli as “brainless.”
On Monday morning, Red Bull Racing released a statement saying: “Comments made before the end of and immediately after the Qatar GP suggesting that Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli had deliberately allowed Lando Norris to overtake him are clearly incorrect.
“Replay footage shows Antonelli momentarily losing control of his car, thus allowing Norris to pass him. We sincerely regret that this has led to Kimi receiving online abuse.”
The Press Association has been told that Mercedes have identified “more than 1100 severe or suspect” comments – “several of which were death threats” – across Antonelli’s social media accounts.
An additional 330 “severe or suspect” comments were also flagged via Mercedes’ social media channels. Mercedes have shared the figures with the FIA’s United Against Online Abuse campaign.
McLaren are powered by Mercedes engines but responding to Lambiase and Marko’s claims, Wolff was apoplectic on Sunday night.
“This is total, utter nonsense that blows my mind,” he said. “We are fighting for second in the constructors’ championship, which is important for us.
“Kimi is fighting for a potential third in the race. I mean, how brainless can you be to even say something like this? And it annoys me. Because I’m annoyed with the race itself, how it went. I’m annoyed with the mistake at the end. I’m annoyed with other mistakes. And then hearing such nonsense blows my mind.
“I spoke to GP [Lambiase]. Obviously they were emotional in that moment. I said to him: ‘[Antonelli] just went off. He had a bit of a moment in the previous corner and then less entry speed into the left-hander. It can happen.’
“So with GP everything is clear. We cleared the air. He said that he didn’t see the situation. But why would we do this? Why would we even think about interfering in a driver championship? You really need to check yourself and whether you are seeing ghosts.”
Norris’s extra two points could nonetheless prove crucial in the championship fight. Before, Norris needed to finish in second place or higher to guarantee the title in Abu Dhabi.
Now, with the gap at 12 points to Verstappen, a third-place finish will be enough for the British driver to claim his maiden crown.
Additional reporting by PA
