The Red Bull team Voices Regret Regarding Remarks Linked to Death Threats Targeting Mercedes Star Kimi Antonelli

The Red Bull Formula 1 team has released a comment expressing its sincere regret for post-race remarks that were followed by a torrent of online abuse, including death threats, directed at Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli.

Antonelli was said to have switched his Instagram profile to a blank image on Monday, a response to the abusive comments that flooded his accounts. His team stated that a number of these messages included threats against the driver's life.

The situation stems from team radio during the closing stages of the Qatar Grand Prix. Max Verstappen's race engineer suggested over the air that it "appeared as if" Antonelli had "just pulled over" to let McLaren's Lando Norris to pass.

This occurrence proved significant for the title fight, as the overtake earned him extra points. This increased the McLaren driver's points advantage over Verstappen to 12 points heading into the final race in Abu Dhabi.

In its official communication, Red Bull clarified: "Observations voiced suggesting that Kimi Antonelli had intentionally let Lando Norris past are clearly incorrect. Video evidence shows Antonelli briefly losing control of his car, thus enabling Norris to get by. We deeply regret that this has led to Kimi receiving online abuse."

The team's statement stopped short of a formal apology for the original claim. However, reports indicate that Lambiase subsequently said sorry to Toto Wolff after being shown video evidence of the on-track moment.

"This is total, utter nonsense. That blows my mind even to hear that," stated Wolff. "We are battling for P2 in the team standings... How brainless can you be to even say something like this?"

Wolff explained that he had cleared the air with Lambiase, who stated he did not witness the moment when he spoke over the radio. Mercedes reported a "1,100% increase" in negative traffic targeting Antonelli following the Grand Prix.

For his part, Antonelli described the moment as a simple mistake. He commented he was driving aggressively to close on the Williams ahead and had a "big snap" that led him to run wide and surrender fourth place.

"It proved really hard with the turbulence and the high tyre temperatures," the driver stated. "It's disappointing to lose the place because it would have been additional points."

Main Takeaways from the Situation

• Red Bull has expressed regret for radio remarks made by a team member.
• Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli was targeted by severe online abuse in the wake of those comments.
• The controversial remark centered on an overtaking move that impacted the title battle.
• Video replays show Antonelli made a mistake, contradicting the suggestion of deliberate action.
• The engineer involved has expressed regret to Mercedes management.