Kimi Antonelli Breaks Silence Following Red Bull Accusations And Online Backlash

If you thought the drama in Formula 1 ended when the checkered flag dropped in Qatar, you clearly haven’t been paying attention to the absolute chaos that unfolded on social media this week. While Max Verstappen was busy celebrating a win and closing the gap to Lando Norris, a much uglier story was brewing in the paddock—one involving a Mercedes rookie, a Red Bull conspiracy theory, and the toxicity of the internet.

Kimi Antonelli has finally broken his silence after being on the receiving end of a massive wave of online hate, sparked by comments made by the Red Bull garage. And honestly? The whole situation is a stark reminder of how quickly things can turn ugly in this sport.

Let’s set the scene, shall we? It’s the second-to-last lap of the Qatar Grand Prix. Antonelli is driving his heart out, trying to hunt down Carlos Sainz for a podium spot. He’s been pushing on tires that have seen better days. In the heat of the moment, the young Italian makes a mistake. He goes deep, loses grip, and runs wide.

This error allowed Lando Norris—who is currently fighting Max Verstappen for the title—to slip past and snatch P4. It was a racing error. It happens. Tires degrade, drivers get desperate, and grip vanishes. But apparently, that logical explanation wasn’t spicy enough for the Red Bull pit wall.

1. Red Bull’s Accusations Spark Online Hate

Almost immediately, the tin foil hats came out. Max Verstappen’s race engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase (GP), hopped on the radio and told Max: “Not sure what happened to Antonelli Max, looks like he just pulled over and let Norris through.” That is a heavy accusation. Suggesting a Mercedes driver is colluding with McLaren to hurt Red Bull is serious stuff. Helmut Marko, never one to keep his thoughts to himself, doubled down on the sentiment initially. The implication was clear: Antonelli fixed it for Lando. Naturally, the internet reacted with its usual calm and measured approach. (That was sarcasm, by the way.) Antonelli was bombarded with abuse. We’re talking close to a thousand hateful messages flooding his social media, attacking a rookie for a split-second mistake made while fighting for position.

2. Antonelli Opens Up About The Emotional Toll

Speaking ahead of the season finale in Abu Dhabi, Antonelli didn’t shy away from how much the backlash stung. It’s easy to forget these guys are human beings under the helmets, especially when they are driving multi-million dollar machines. “It was not easy to get all those kind of comments after the race, especially for something that I would never do such as waving past a competitor,” Antonelli explained. “I was fighting for P3. At the end of the day, I was pushing hard, and I was trying to get into the DRS of Sainz.” He went on to explain the technical side of it—dirty air, degrading rubber, and the desperate push for a podium. “At that moment I did a mistake, and Lando passed me and, you know, then after the race to receive those kind of comments, definitely it hurt.” It’s genuinely frustrating to see a young talent have to defend his integrity because a rival team jumped to conclusions on the team radio.

3. Max Verstappen Steps In To Clear The Air

To their credit, Red Bull realized they messed up. The team issued a formal statement admitting their comments were “clearly incorrect” and expressed regret for the abuse Antonelli faced. But it went a step further than just a PR statement. Antonelli revealed that both GP and Max Verstappen reached out to him personally to squash the beef. “It was nice to see the Red Bull statement, also GP came to talk to me as well and we clarified, I also clarified with Max and that was nice,” the Mercedes driver said. It’s a classy move from Max and his engineer to own it, even if the damage was already done regarding the social media pile-on. Toto Wolff, acting as the protective team boss, called the initial accusations “nonsense,” pointing out that Mercedes is in a fierce fight for P2 in the Constructors’ Championship and wouldn’t just give away points. With the air finally cleared, Antonelli can focus on the job at hand in Abu Dhabi: chasing a P6 finish in the championship and trying to help Mercedes secure that runner-up spot behind McLaren. Hopefully, the keyboard warriors will take a day off this weekend.

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