Red Bull Walks Back Qatar GP Comments After Antonelli Faces Online Abuse
What started as a tense final-lap battle at the Qatar Grand Prix has taken a troubling turn off the track, with Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli receiving death threats online following post-race speculation about his intentions during a late-race incident. Red Bull has now issued a statement walking back those comments, expressing "sincere regret" over the fallout.
Here’s what happened: On the penultimate lap, Antonelli ran wide at Turn 10, opening the door for McLaren’s Lando Norris to slip into fourth place. That move gave Norris two extra points in the standings - a seemingly small shift with potentially big implications, as it puts him 12 points ahead of Max Verstappen heading into a three-way title decider in Abu Dhabi.
But it wasn’t the on-track action that sparked outrage - it was what was said over the radio. Verstappen’s race engineer, Gianpiero “GP” Lambiase, suggested in the heat of the moment that it “looked like” Antonelli had “just pulled over and let Norris through.” That remark, made before the full replay had been reviewed, lit a fuse on social media, where Antonelli was bombarded with abusive messages, including death threats.
In the aftermath, Antonelli changed his Instagram profile picture to black - a quiet but powerful signal that the online vitriol had crossed a line.
Red Bull addressed the situation Monday, acknowledging that the comments made during and after the race were “clearly incorrect.” The team clarified that replay footage showed Antonelli lost control of the car momentarily, which allowed Norris to pass - not that he gave up the position intentionally.
“We sincerely regret that this has led to Kimi receiving online abuse,” the statement read.
While Red Bull stopped short of a direct apology for the initial accusation, there was a private acknowledgment behind the scenes. According to Mercedes, Lambiase apologized to team principal Toto Wolff after the race. Team representative Bradley Lord, who was present during the exchange, said Lambiase retracted the comment once he saw the video of the incident for the first time.
Mercedes also revealed the disturbing extent of the online harassment, reporting a staggering “1,100% increase” in abusive messages toward Antonelli compared to a typical race weekend. Fortunately, Antonelli’s social media is moderated, so he likely didn’t see the worst of it firsthand. Still, the emotional toll was evident.
Wolff didn’t hold back when asked about the situation post-race.
“This is total, utter nonsense,” he said. “We’re fighting for P2 in the constructors’ championship.
Kimi was pushing for a podium. How brainless can you be to even suggest he let someone through?”
Wolff acknowledged that Lambiase was likely speaking out of frustration in the moment, especially with championship implications on the line. But he was quick to shut down any narrative suggesting Antonelli acted with anything less than full commitment.
“I said to [Lambiase], ‘He just went off.’ He had a bit of a moment in the previous corner, came into the next one with less entry speed, got on the gas, and the car stepped out.
It happens. We cleared the air.
He said he didn’t see the situation, and he apologized.”
As for Antonelli, the young Italian gave a clear account of what unfolded behind the wheel. He was locked in on trying to catch Carlos Sainz’s Williams for third place, but the combination of dirty air and overheating tires made grip a moving target.
“I was pushing quite a lot to get close to Carlos,” Antonelli explained. “Eventually I was in DRS, or very close, but into Turn Nine I went in a bit quicker and had a massive moment. A bit unexpected, but just lost the rear and went off track.”
He added that while the mistake was frustrating - especially since it cost him two valuable points - it wasn’t the result of anything more than a hard push gone slightly too far.
“Just need to look at why the mistake happened and what I did differently. I went in quicker, but not massively different. A shame to lose the place.”
It’s a reminder of how thin the margins are at this level - and how quickly a misstep, both on the track and on the airwaves, can spiral into something much uglier off it.
With the championship fight heading to Abu Dhabi, the focus now shifts back to the racing. But the Qatar fallout is a sobering example of the responsibility that comes with every word spoken in the spotlight - especially when fans are listening, and emotions are already running high.