Mercedes rookie driver Kimi Antonelli has become the center of a social media storm, triggering his rise in Google Trends, after the 19-year-old was subjected to a torrent of online abuse, including death threats, following a late-race incident at the recent Qatar Grand Prix. The escalating crisis has prompted rival team Red Bull Racing to issue an official apology for remarks that fueled the unfounded attacks.
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The Kimi Antonelli controversy stems from the penultimate lap in Qatar, where the young Italian ran wide at Turn 9 while defending fourth place against McLaren’s Lando Norris. The momentary loss of control allowed Norris to execute the overtake, securing a crucial fourth place finish that extended the championship leader’s lead over Max Verstappen.
😡 The Allegation and The Backlash:
The situation spiraled when Red Bull’s race engineer and motorsport advisor suggested on live broadcasts that Antonelli had deliberately let Lando Norris past.
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Red Bull’s initial comments: Verstappen’s engineer suggested on the radio that Antonelli “just pulled over and let Norris through,” a claim later echoed by Helmut Marko who said Antonelli “waved him by.”
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Antonelli Abuse: Mercedes has confirmed that the young driver received over 1,100 severe or suspect comments, including death threats, on his social media platforms following the race. Kimi Antonelli has since blacked out his social media profile picture in response to the hate.
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Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff strongly condemned the claims, calling them “brainless” and “total, utter nonsense.”
✅ Red Bull Issues Official Apology:
Facing immense pressure from the F1 community and governing body FIA, Red Bull Racing issued a formal statement on Monday, walking back the damaging comments and apologizing for the resulting Antonelli Abuse.
“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,” Red Bull’s statement read. “Replay footage shows Antonelli momentarily losing control of his car… We sincerely regret that this has led to Kimi receiving online abuse.”
This unprecedented Red Bull Apology highlights the severe impact of speculative comments in the heat of an F1 title fight, especially on a young rookie like Kimi Antonelli.
🛡️ FIA and F1 Paddock Rally Support:
The entire F1 News paddock, including the FIA, has rallied behind the Mercedes F1 driver. Mercedes confirmed they would be submitting the abusive comments to the FIA as part of the body’s ‘United Against Online Abuse’ initiative.
Kimi Antonelli, who is being closely watched as a future star and the driver who replaced Lewis Hamilton, explained the incident as a genuine driving error, stating he was “pushing hard to stay ahead of Norris in the closing stages and unfortunately just pushed a little bit too hard.”
The focus now shifts to the season finale in Abu Dhabi, but the incident has sparked a crucial conversation about the toxicity and psychological toll of social media abuse on young athletes in high-stakes sports like Formula 1.
