Threats and insults to Kimi Antonelli after mistake on Norris: Red Bull apologizes

Pouring with insults and threats to Andrea Kimi Antonelli after the Mercedes driver’s mistake in the finale of the Qatar Grand Prix. Kimi was overtaken on the penultimate lap of the race by Lando Norris, who gained two valuable points from a World Championship perspective and ahead of the final sprint to Abu Dhabi, and many questioned the Italian’s mistake. Verstappen’s track engineer, Lambiase, claimed that Antonelli “let Norris” pass, and in the post-race aftermath Helmut Marko”s unfortunate words also sparked controversy. “Yes, it happened twice that he more or less waved Lando through” said the Red Bull adviser.

“Did he do it on purpose? It was so obvious. And the first time it was the same”. Words that had provoked a testy reaction from Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff: “God bless him, Helmut. It is total nonsense that leaves me speechless even to hear it. We are fighting for second place in the championship, which is important for us. Kimi is fighting for a potential third place. I mean, how stupid do you have to be to say something like that? And all this bothers me even more because I am already bothered by the race itself, the way it went. These things leave me speechless”.

On social media Antonelli has been pelted by haters and Max Verstappen fans, so much so that Red Bull itself, reasoning coldly, had to step in to take back what it had previously said: “The comments made before and immediately after the end of the Qatar GP suggesting how Antonelli deliberately let Norris pass are clearly wrong. Replays show that Antonelli momentarily lost control of the car, and this allowed Norris to pass him. We sincerely regret that this has caused online insults to Kimi”, is the note published by the Austrian team.

Norris now has a 12-point margin over Verstappen: in Abu Dhabi he only needs to finish third to win his first career World Championship.