Red Bull have said they are “profoundly sorry” for the online abuse directed at Kimi Antonelli after “categorically incorrect” comments suggested the Mercedes rookie should be allowed to beat title contender Lando Norris at the Qatar Grand Prix.
With Max Verstappen on his way to victory at the Lusail International Circuit, Antonelli found himself running ahead of Norris in the closing stages of the race, due to tire strategy that saw Mercedes pit both cars under the early safety car. This gave Antonelli track position over Norris, who had slightly fresher hard tires in the final stages.
Norris closed within the DRS range of Antonelli, who was putting in a defensive masterclass to keep the McLaren at bay, as well as trying to catch Carlos Sainz to fight for the final podium position. But with just two laps remaining, Antonelli ran too wide into a corner and it allowed Norris to take P4 and two additional vital points as he looks to secure his first title in Abu Dhabi next weekend.
Verstappen’s race engineer Gianpiero Lambiasse told the reigning champion on the radio: “Not sure what happened to Antonelli Max, it seems he just stopped and let Norris go.” However, Lambiasse immediately apologized to Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff for the comments, admitting that he had not fully seen the situation.
On Monday Red Bull released a statement which read: “The comments made before and immediately after the finish at the Qatar GP are clearly false, stating that Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli deliberately allowed Lando Norris to overtake him.
“Replay footage shows that Antonelli momentarily lost control of his car, thus allowing Norris to pass him. We are sincerely sorry that this caused Antonelli to suffer online abuse.”
Following the conclusion of the Qatar Grand Prix, in which the title fight reached the final in Abu Dhabi, Wolff was asked about comments he made about Antonelli in the post-race media session, in which he described the notion that he would withdraw as “nonsense”.
“We are fighting for P2 in the championship, which is important for us,” Wolff explained. “Kimi is fighting for a possible P3 [in the race],
“It bothers me, because I’m upset with the race itself, how it happened. I’m angry with the mistake I made at the end. I’m angry with the other mistakes and then hearing all this nonsense blows my mind.
“The second thing is that, apart from losing points for the Constructors’ Championship, I spoke to the GP [Lambiase]I looked at him and obviously he was emotional at that moment because they [McLaren] I think I need to win the championship or get P4, I don’t know, but one situation… and I told him, he [Antonelli] just went.
,[Antonelli] There was a little moment in the last corner and then that left-hander lost speed on entry, put the gas down and at that moment, whatever happened, he lost the position. So with the GP, everything is clear. “He said he didn’t see the situation.”
As far as the race itself, Wolff seemed disappointed that his drivers could not showcase the car’s full potential. Russell lost positions at the start, while Antonelli lost out to Sainz in the first round of pit stops – and potentially a podium too.
“We had a fast car in the sprint, and I think we had a fast car today,” Wolff said. “When you lose position at the pit stop and make mistakes in the race, obviously that won’t help. I think if you start in the open air, you fight at the front.”
Mercedes lead Red Bull by 33 points in the championship as they look to secure P2 behind McLaren. And while that’s some consolation from the final season under current rules, Wolff admitted it was a far cry from what he and the team expected themselves to do.
“I think when we look at 20 years of data, you can say there was a P2 in 2013, then eight world championships in a row, and then a P2, P3, P4, P2.
“I think it’s not disrespectful. You look at the stats, and you say, well, this is a team that has fought at the front. If we’re completely honest with ourselves, you need to say that not a single year [of the regulations] We were actually fighting for the world championship.
“That’s the crux of the matter. I think McLaren have scored almost twice as many points as us, and in previous years it was Max who ruled the world. Nobody in the team thinks that’s good enough.”