Add thelocalreport.in As A Trusted Source
red Bull have issued a statement in which they regret the comments that caused distress to the Mercedes driver kmy antonelli Receiving death threats on social media.
In the final stage of Sunday’s Qatar Grand Prix, Antonelli made a mistake and went astrayallow lando norris finishing fourth and giving the McLaren driver two valuable points in the race for the title,
max verstappenRace engineer Gianpiero Lambiasse told his driver over the team radio: “I’m not sure what happened to Antonelli there – it looked like he just stopped and let Lando in.” Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko also said after the race that it was “so obvious” that Antonelli had “waved” Norris.
According to Mercedes, 19-year-old Antonelli has since received more than a thousand abusive comments online, despite the fact that the Italian immediately insisted in the media that he had made a simple driving error. mercedes boss Toto Wolff Antonelli’s criticism was labeled “unintelligent”.
On Monday morning, Red Bull Racing released a statement saying: “Comments made before and immediately after the end of the Qatar GP suggesting that Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli deliberately allowed Lando Norris to overtake him are clearly false.
“Replay footage shows that Antonelli momentarily lost control of his car, thus allowing Norris to pass him. We are truly sorry that Kimi has suffered online abuse because of this.”
The Press Association has been told that Mercedes has identified “more than 1100 serious or suspicious” comments on Antonelli’s social media accounts – “many of which were death threats”.
An additional 330 “serious or suspicious” comments were also flagged via Mercedes’ social media channels. Mercedes has shared the figures with the FIA’s United Against Online Abuse campaign.
The McLaren is powered by Mercedes engines, but Wolff lapsed on Sunday night, responding to the claims of Lambias and Marko.
“This is complete nonsense that blows my mind,” he said. “We are fighting for second place in the Constructors’ Championship, which is important for us.
“Kimi is fighting for a possible third place in the race. I mean, how stupid can you be to say anything like that? And it bothers me. Because I’m angry at the race itself, how it happened. I’m angry at the mistake at the end. I’m angry at the other mistakes. And then hearing that kind of nonsense blows my mind.
“I spoke to the GP [Lambiase]Obviously he was emotional at that moment, I said to him: ‘[Antonelli] just went. He had a brief moment of time around the back corner and then the left-hander’s entry speed diminished. could be possible.’
“So everything is clear with the GP. We cleared the situation. He said he did not see the situation. But why would we do that? Why would we think about interfering in the driver’s championship? You really need to check yourself and are you seeing ghosts.”
Norris’s extra two points could still prove crucial in the championship game. Previously, Norris had to finish second or better to be assured of the title in Abu Dhabi.
Now, with a 12-point gap on Verstappen, a third-place finish will be enough for the British driver to clinch his first crown.
Additional reporting by PA