Red Bull retracts claims as Antonelli hit with abuse

(GMM) Red Bull has publicly backtracked after Kimi Antonelli (pictured) was bombarded with online abuse – including apparent death threats – following accusations he deliberately helped Lando Norris in Qatar.

The 19-year-old Mercedes rookie blacked out his social media profiles and locked his accounts after receiving more than a thousand hostile messages. Toto Wolff immediately alerted the FIA, prompting the governing body to intervene.

Kimi Antonelli and Toto Wolff. Photo by Sebastian Kawka for Mercedes

Red Bull issued a rare formal statement distancing itself from the insinuations made by Dr Helmut Marko and Max Verstappen’s race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase.

“Replay footage shows Antonelli momentarily losing control of his car, thus allowing Norris to pass him,” the team said. “We sincerely regret that this has led to Antonelli receiving online abuse.”

Marko, who had been the harshest critic, also walked back his remarks.

“I’ve looked at the footage again very carefully,” he told Sport1. “The first time, Antonelli could have put up a bit more of a fight. The second time, it was a driving error and not intentional.

“I’m sorry that Antonelli got so much flak online. To make it perfectly clear – he didn’t let Norris past intentionally.”

Before the saga escalated, Antonelli explained the moment himself.

“I was just trying to run my race and make it to the podium,” he told Viaplay. “I pushed hard and lost the back. I didn’t do it on purpose, and there’s not much I could do about it.”

The FIA used the incident to reinforce its anti-abuse message.

“It remains absolutely critical that everyone operating within our sport can do so in a safe and respectful environment,” the federation said.

“We stand in support of Kimi Antonelli and urge the wider community, online and offline, to treat drivers, teams, officials and the whole sporting ecosystem with the respect and compassion that they deserve.”