FIA statement regarding insults directed at Antonelli

      After the finish of the race in Qatar, Mercedes recorded more than 1,100 abusive messages directed at Kimi Antonelli, including death threats, over the situation in the closing laps when Lando Norris passed the young Italian. The FIA could not fail to react to this.

      At the end of the race, Max Verstappen’s engineer Gianpiero Lambiase told the driver over the radio that Antonelli appeared to have let Norris through; however, he said this without having watched a replay, and the misunderstanding was clarified between Lambiase and Mercedes boss Toto Wolff after the race.

      However, Marko went further, telling Sky Germany that it was “all too obvious” that Antonelli “let” Norris through. Wolff responded emotionally to that remark, but the wave of hate carried on.

      On Monday Antonelli removed his photo from social media, Helmut Marko changed his stance, and Red Bull had to issue an apology. On Monday evening the FIA also responded to this unpleasant situation with an official statement.

      “The FIA and its ‘United Against Online Abuse’ campaign condemn insults and harassment in any form. It is very important that everyone who works in our sport can do so in a safe and respectful environment. We support Kimi Antonelli and call on the wider public, both online and in real life, to treat drivers, teams, officials and the entire sporting ecosystem with the respect and understanding they deserve,” the FIA said in the statement.