Red Bull has admitted it was wrong to suggest Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli deliberately let Lando Norris past in the closing laps of the Qatar Grand Prix, and said it regrets the online abuse Antonelli subsequently received.
Antonelli had been defending from Norris until he ran wide on the penultimate lap, allowing the championship leader to move into fourth. That pass means Norris arrives at this week’s title decider in Abu Dhabi with a 12-point advantage over Max Verstappen (rather than a 10-point lead), with team‑mate Oscar Piastri still in contention, described as four points further back in third.
During and after the race, Red Bull personnel suggested Antonelli had eased off to let Norris through. Trackside radio from Max Verstappen’s pit and comments from Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko implied the move was intentional. Sky Sports News reports both race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase and Marko have since apologised; Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff said he spoke with Lambiase after the race and was told the engineer apologised.
In a statement Red Bull said the suggestions that Antonelli had deliberately yielded were incorrect, noting replay footage showed the Mercedes driver briefly losing control of his car and that this allowed Norris to overtake. The team expressed sincere regret that the comments led to online abuse directed at Antonelli.
Antonelli changed his Instagram profile picture to a black circle on Monday; Sky Sports News understands this was a response to harassment. Mercedes has flagged more than 1,100 “severe or suspect” comments across Antonelli’s social accounts, including death threats, and reported roughly 330 abusive messages on the team’s accounts. The team plans to present those figures to the FIA under the United Against Online Abuse initiative.
Wolff strongly defended Antonelli after the initial remarks, calling the suggestions “utter nonsense” and criticising the idea that a driver fighting for a P3 finish would intentionally give position away, while emphasising the importance of the Constructors’ Championship battle.