Red Bull apologises for “incorrect” remark against Kimi Antonelli after Mercedes rookie receives death threats

Youngest F1 rookie Kimi Antonelli finished fifth in the Qatar Grand Prix final on Sunday. But one wrong reaction by a Red Bull engineer during the race cost Antonelli something as serious as hundreds of death threats. The severity of the situation was such that Red Bull had to issue a statement, admitting a blunder in judgement when the 19-year-old Mercedes driver appeared to have given Lando Norris a pass, which enabled the McLaren driver to finish fourth in the race.Max Verstappen’s race engineer Gianpiero “GP” Lambiase watched Lando Norris get ahead of Kimi Antonelli during the race, as reported by AFP. Assuming it was intentional on Antonelli’s part, the engineer reacted on the radio, “Not sure what happened to Antonelli, Max! Looks like he just pulled over and let Norris through.”Mercedes later revealed that there was excessive online abuse directed towards Kimi Antonelli after he happened to let Lando Norris through. What made it far worse was him receiving more than 300 death threats for the same. This led Red Bull to issue an apology.Red Bull shared a statement on Monday: “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. Replay footage shows Antonelli momentarily losing control of his car, thus allowing Norris to pass him. We sincerely regret that this has led to Kimi receiving online abuse.”Amid the massive hate that came his way, many also came forward to defend him and pledge their support. A fan wrote, “I hope you’re fine, sweet kid. Never mind the haters, we all make mistakes.” Another said, “Seriously, people are coming here to throw hate at Kimi?! Grow up. You were great, Kimi — you have a beautiful future ahead of you in F1, keep shining.”The battle for the F1 Championship has become far more serious than expected, as there are not two but three drivers in contention for the title. Lando Norris currently leads the championship with 408 points. Max Verstappen is slightly behind at 396 points, thanks to his recent win at the Qatar Grand Prix. Oscar Piastri is just four points behind him at 392. The 2025 F1 Championship final is set to be held in Abu Dhabi on December 7.Also Read: Qatar Grand Prix: Max Verstappen closes in on 5th F1 title, here’s what cost pole-winner Oscar Piastri the win