The Red Bull team Voices Remorse Regarding Comments Linked to Online Abuse Against Mercedes Star Kimi Antonelli

The Red Bull racing outfit has released a comment expressing its sincere regret for post-race remarks that were followed by a torrent of online abuse, including vile threats, directed at young talent Kimi Antonelli.

Antonelli was said to have switched his social media picture to a blank image on Monday, a reaction to the hurtful messages that flooded his accounts. His team stated that several of these communications constituted direct threats against the youngster's life.

The situation stems from radio communications during the closing stages of the recent race. Red Bull engineer Gianpiero Lambiase remarked over the air that it "looked like" Antonelli had "deliberately moved aside" to allow McLaren's Lando Norris through.

This occurrence proved crucial for the championship battle, as the overtake secured extra points. This increased the McLaren driver's points advantage over Verstappen to a dozen points heading into the season finale in Abu Dhabi.

In its statement, Red Bull clarified: "Observations made suggesting that Mercedes driver had intentionally let Lando Norris to overtake are factually wrong. Video evidence shows Antonelli momentarily losing control of his car, thus allowing Norris to get by. We sincerely regret that this has resulted in Kimi being subjected to such abuse."

The team's statement stopped short of a formal apology for the original claim. However, reports indicate that Lambiase later apologised to Mercedes team principal after being shown video evidence of the incident.

"This is complete and utter rubbish. That astounds me even to hear that," stated Wolff. "We are fighting for P2 in the team standings... How foolish can you be to even suggest something like this?"

Wolff explained that he had cleared the air with Lambiase, who claimed he had not seen the moment when he made the comment. The team reported a "massive surge" in abusive messages targeting Antonelli after the Grand Prix.

For his part, Antonelli explained the moment as a simple mistake. He commented he was pushing hard to catch Carlos Sainz and experienced a "big snap" that caused him to go off track and lose the position.

"It was really hard with the dirty air and the tyres were overheating," Antonelli remarked. "A shame to lose the place because it would have been two more 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 aftermath of those comments.
• The controversial remark centered on an overtaking move that affected the title battle.
• Video evidence show Antonelli made a mistake, debunking the suggestion of deliberate action.
• The engineer involved has expressed regret to Mercedes management.