Mercedes and Red Bull Address Kimi Antonelli’s Online Abuse Following Qatar GP Incident
In a recent statement, Mercedes expressed appreciation for Red Bull’s efforts to mitigate the online abuse directed at Kimi Antonelli after an incident during the Qatar Grand Prix. The rookie driver, who was running fourth, lost position to Lando Norris following a mistake at Turn 10 in the race’s concluding laps.
Max Verstappen’s race engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase, along with Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko, suggested that Antonelli should have allowed the championship leader to pass, which exacerbated the backlash against the young driver. Following the outcry, Antonelli temporarily changed his social media profile picture to black, signaling the severity of the harassment.
Red Bull subsequently issued a statement on Monday, acknowledging that their comments may have contributed to the abuse. Mercedes’ Deputy Technical Director, Simone Resta, voiced the team’s support for this action. “For us, the abuse is quite disappointing,” Resta remarked, emphasizing the team’s commitment to creating a safe environment for fans.
Resta added, “We are all working very united to maximize our potential in Abu Dhabi and achieve our objective, which is to finish P2 in the constructors’ classification.”
He explained the technical aspects behind Antonelli’s error, noting the difficulty of maintaining control while closely following another car on Qatar’s high-speed circuit. “Kimi was driving quite on the limit,” Resta stated. “He was on a longer stint and trying to catch up to Carlos Sainz when he briefly lost aerodynamic balance, resulting in a snap that caused him to lose the position to Norris.”
As the teams prepare for the Abu Dhabi GP, the focus now shifts to maximizing performance in the championship’s final race.
