Kimi Antonelli's dad dropped an emotional message on social media after his son was sent death threats by F1 fans after events at the Qatar Grand Prix. Red Bull's senior members had accused the Mercedes rookie racer of intentionally letting go Lando Norris on the final lap of the race.
Norris was stuck behind Antonelli after his second pit stop on lap 42 of 57. The championship leader failed to overtake the rookie racer and would have finished in P5. That would've reduced his championship lead over race winner Max Verstappen to 10 points.
However, on the last lap, Kimi Antonelli committed a mistake of going into Turn 10 and went wide, letting Lando Noris to easily surpass him for P4. According to the Guardian, Verstappen's race engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase, informed the Dutch race on team radio that Antonelli had seemingly allowed Norris to pass, insinuating fishy business in the drivers' championship battle.
Red Bull director Helmut Marko had the same feeling, and after the race he accused Antonelli of helping Norris. What happened afterwards was a barrage of hate for the 19-year-old racer on social media, including death threats.
On Tuesday, 2 December, Kimi Antonelli's father, Marco Antonelli, shared a heartfelt message for those who supported his son during this sad scenario. In an Instagram post, he wrote:
"Thanks to all the people who write to me to support Kimi, he knows that these people who write these things don’t deserve to be considered and will be the first to ask for his autograph if they meet him. It’s not the first time this has happened and unfortunately it won’t be the last, until the law punishes these people who write threats and insults on social media. It’s those who love him who are important and are more than others. Your FAMILY is always with you. WE LOVE YOU KIMI ❤️❤️❤️"
A day following the race, Red Bull issued an apology for the accusations made by Labiase and Marko, which was received well by Mercedes. Toto Wolff had shared following the race that Lambiase had apologised for make the controversial statement.
On Monday, Helmut Marko also retracted his comment after revisiting the footage of the moment Kimi Antonelli made the mistake that let Norris secure P4, and apologized for the hate the 19-year-old faced on social media.
Toto Wolff criticises Helmut Marko after accusations against Kimi Antonelli
Mercedes Boss Toto Wolff defended his driver following the 2025 Qatar Grand Prix, as Antonelli was accused of letting Lando Norris by to help the Mercedes customer team racer in the championship. The Brackley-based team's CEO and Team principal lambasted Helmut Marko for the accusations against Kimi Antonelli.
“Bless him, Helmut. This is total, utter nonsense that blows my mind even to hear that. We're fighting for P2 in the championship, which is important for us. Kimi's fighting for a potential P3 [in the race].”
“I mean, how brainless can you be to even say something like this? And it annoys me, because I'm annoyed with the race itself, how it went. I'm annoyed with the mistake at the end. I'm annoyed with other mistakes. And then hearing such nonsense blows my mind.”
Since then, Red Bull came out and issued a public statement and apologised to Kimi Antonelli for the accusations.