Featured Image Credit: Getty
Topics: Formula 1, Mercedes, Red Bull Racing, McLaren
Josh Lawless
The FIA have issued a statement after Kimi Antonelli received a stream of vile messages following the Qatar Grand Prix.
The Mercedes driver finished fifth in the penultimate race of the season, having been overtaken by Lando Norris on the penultimate lap after running wide.
Despite Max Verstappen joining him on seven victories to take it to the last race, the McLaren man's final position means he will win the F1 title next weekend in Abu Dhabi if he secures a podium.
Bizarrely, Antonelli faced accusations from Red Bull that he deliberately let Norris pass - leading to online abuse to the point of more than 1,100 suspects comments flagged by Mercedes' community management tools on Antonelli's pages.
Advert
Red Bull issued a full apology for the situation after the criticism from Mercedes chief Toto Wolff but on Monday afternoon, the FIA posted a statement condemning the abuse suffered by Antonelli, who changed his profile picture to black on Instagram.
The statement read: "The FIA and its United Against Online Abuse campaign condemn abuse and harassment in any form. It remains absolutely critical that everyone operating within our sport can do so in a safe and respectful environment.
"We stand in support of Kimi Antonelli and urge the wider community — online and offline — to treat drivers, teams, officials, and the whole sporting ecosystem with the respect and compassion they deserve."
On his team radio,Verstappen's race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase made the claim about Antonelli, commenting: “Not sure what happened to Antonelli, looks like he just pulled over and let Norris through."
Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko also agreed and claimed it was "so obvious", with Antonelli clarifying that he "just lost the rear, and went off track".
Wolff branded the claims "utter nonsense" and "brainless" and revealed he had had a conversation with Lambiase.
Red Bull said that the comments suggesting Antonelli "deliberately allowed" Norris to overtake him are "clearly incorrect" and referenced replay footage which showed his genuine mistake and loss of control.
They added that they "sincerely regret that this has led to Kimi receiving online abuse".
Speaking to F1 insider afterwards, Marko said he was "sorry that Antonelli got so much flak online" and confirmed that the 18-year-old "didn't let Norris past intentionally."