Red Bull say they were “clearly incorrect” to suggest Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli deliberately allowed Lando Norris to overtake him late in Sunday’s Qatar Grand Prix, and they “regret” the online abuse Antonelli has since received.
Antonelli had been defending his position from Norris until he ran wide on the penultimate lap, which allowed the championship leader to pass and move into fourth. That overtake means Norris goes into this week’s title decider in Abu Dhabi with a 12-point lead over Max Verstappen, rather than a 10-point lead, with Norris’s team-mate Oscar Piastri still in contention, “four points further back in third.”
A frustrated Max Verstappen heard his race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase tell him over the radio that it looked like Antonelli had “just pulled over and let Norris through,” and Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko said after the race that Antonelli had “waved” Norris past. Sky Sports News understands both Lambiase and Marko have apologised; Toto Wolff said he spoke to Lambiase after the race and was told the engineer apologised.
Red Bull issued a statement: “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.”
Antonelli changed his Instagram profile picture to a black circle on Monday, which Sky Sports News understands was a response to the abuse. Mercedes flagged more than 1,100 “severe or suspect comments” across Antonelli’s social accounts, including death threats, and reported around 330 similarly abusive comments on the team’s own accounts. The team will present the numbers to the FIA as part of the United Against Online Abuse campaign.
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff defended Antonelli after the initial Red Bull comments, calling them “utter nonsense” and saying: “We are fighting for P2 in the [Constructors’] Championship, which is important for us. Kimi is fighting for a potential P3 [race finish]. How brainless can you be to even say something like this? It annoys me because I’m annoyed with the race itself, how it went.”