Kimi Antonelli thanks Max Verstappen for support after online death threats
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Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli walking in the pit lane ahead of the Abu Dhabi grand prix, on Dec 4.
PHOTO: EPA
Follow topic:
- Kimi Antonelli received death threats online after a mistake in the Qatar Grand Prix benefited Lando Norris.
- Red Bull's comments suggesting a conspiracy fuelled the abuse, but the team later issued a supportive statement.
- Max Verstappen and his engineer offered Antonelli support, telling him to ignore the "brainless" haters.
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ABU DHABI - Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli on Dec 4 thanked Max Verstappen for his support as he revealed that the Red Bull driver and his race engineer had spoken to him after receiving death threats on social media following the Qatar Grand Prix.
The 19-year-old rookie made a mistake on the penultimate lap of the Nov 30 race which allowed series leader Lando Norris of McLaren to pass him and claim fourth place.
It earned Norris two more points in his bid to dethrone four-time champion Verstappen, who he leads by 12 points ahead of this weekend’s season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, and prompted Gianpiero Lambiase, Verstappen’s race engineer, to comment on team radio that Antonelli “had just pulled over and let Norris through”.
This led to Red Bull consultant Helmut Marko adding that he had suspicions about the move, suggesting a conspiracy against Red Bull and Verstappen, which Mercedes’ team chief Toto Wolff described as “brainless”.
The comments, broadcast widely during the race, sparked a slew of abusive comments, including death threats on Antonelli’s social media.
Mercedes reported a rise of 1,100 per cent in hateful comments on their social media channels.
“It wasn’t easy to get those comments after the race, for something that I would never do, waving past a competitor,” said Antonelli.
“I was fighting for P3 at the end of the day. I was pushing hard and pushing so hard, the mistake arrived.
“Every lap, I was getting closer to the point where the tyres gave up and at that moment, I made the mistake, and Lando passed me.
“Then to receive those comments after the race, it definitely hurt.”
But the young Italian said he has subsequently received support from other members of the paddock.
“It was nice to see the Red Bull statement (issued on Dec 1) and then Lambiase came to talk to me as well and I also clarified it with Max. I had a lot of support and it helped me to forget what happened and focus on this weekend,” he said.
“Max saw what happened and he wasn’t bothered... He even showed me support.
“That was really nice from him and I can’t say what he said because it contains some bad words, but it was just ‘don’t worry about these kinds of people, because they’re brainless, so just focus on the job’.”
Ruling body the International Motoring Federation also issued a statement of support for Antonelli and condemned the online abuse. AFP
