Red Bull Voices Remorse Regarding Remarks Following Death Threats Against Driver Kimi Antonelli
The Red Bull Formula 1 team has released a comment expressing its deep remorse for post-race remarks that preceded a torrent of online abuse, including vile threats, directed at Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli.
Antonelli reportedly switched his Instagram profile to a solid black image on Monday, a response to the hurtful messages that appeared on his accounts. His team stated that several of these communications included threats against the driver's life.
The situation stems from radio communications during the final laps of the recent race. Max Verstappen's race engineer suggested over the air that it "looked like" Antonelli had "just pulled over" to let rival driver Lando Norris to pass.
This incident proved significant for the title fight, as Norris's pass secured extra points. This extended the McLaren driver's points advantage over Verstappen to a dozen points ahead of the final race in Abu Dhabi.
In its official communication, Red Bull clarified: "Comments made suggesting that Kimi Antonelli had intentionally let Lando Norris past are factually wrong. Video evidence demonstrates Antonelli briefly losing control of his car, thus enabling Norris to get by. We deeply regret that this has resulted in Kimi receiving such abuse."
The team's statement stopped short of a direct apology for the original claim. However, reports indicate that Lambiase later apologised to Toto Wolff after reviewing video evidence of the incident.
"This is total, utter nonsense. That blows my mind even to hear that," said Wolff. "We are fighting for P2 in the team standings... How foolish can you be to even suggest something like this?"
Wolff added that he had cleared the air with Lambiase, who claimed he had not seen the actual incident when he made the comment. Mercedes reported a "massive surge" in negative traffic targeting Antonelli following the Grand Prix.
For his part, Antonelli explained the moment as a simple mistake. He said he was pushing hard to catch the Williams ahead and experienced a "big snap" that caused him to run wide and surrender fourth place.
"It was really hard with the turbulence and the high tyre temperatures," Antonelli remarked. "It's disappointing to lose the place because it would have been additional points."
Main Takeaways from the Incident
- Red Bull has expressed regret for radio remarks made by a staff member.
- Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli was targeted by death threats in the aftermath of those comments.
- The controversial remark centered on an overtaking move that affected the championship standings.
- Video replays confirm Antonelli made a mistake, contradicting the suggestion of deliberate action.
- The engineer involved has apologised to Mercedes management.
