Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko apologised to Kimi Antonelli after criticism erupted over the Qatar GP incident, where the young Mercedes driver lost control and allowed Lando Norris to grab fourth place. The moment handed Norris two key championship points, adding pressure to Max Verstappen’s title defence.
Antonelli ran wide on the penultimate lap at Losail and slipped off the ideal line. Norris reacted immediately and moved past. Some Red Bull voices suggested the overtake looked intentional, which triggered a wave of harmful comments toward the 18-year-old.
Verstappen’s engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase, claimed on team radio that Antonelli might have allowed the pass. Marko later echoed the sentiment, calling the move “so obvious” and suggesting Norris had been “waved by”. These remarks escalated into heavy abuse across Antonelli’s social media profiles.
Marko Reviews Footage and Issues Public Apology
Once Marko re-checked the footage, he changed his stance.
“I took another close look at the footage,” Marko told F1-insider. “The first time, Antonelli could have held his ground a little better… The second time, it was a driving error and not intentional. I’m sorry that Antonelli got so much flak online. To clarify once again: he didn’t let Norris pass on purpose.”
Red Bull followed up with an official clarification. “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.”
Mercedes revealed the extent of the harassment. Their moderation tools flagged over 1100 severe or suspicious messages, which included death threats. The team also identified around 330 abusive comments on their main accounts. Mercedes plans to present all data to the FIA, which continues to prioritise its United Against Online Abuse initiative.
Toto Wolff Responds Strongly to Accusations
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff condemned the suggestion that Antonelli intentionally assisted Norris.
“Bless him, Helmut. This is total, utter nonsense that blows my mind even to hear that,” Wolff said. He highlighted that Mercedes still fights for P2 in the constructors’ standings and that Antonelli had his own race to focus on.
“I mean, how brainless can you be to even say something like this?”
Wolff also addressed his conversation with Lambiase, who apologised for his initial reaction. “I spoke to GP… He said he didn’t see the situation. With GP, everything’s clear.” Wolff added that social media reactions escalated quickly after the comments.
“Why would we do this? Why would we even think about interfering in a driver championship?”
The FIA has been contacted for comment as the investigation continues.
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