The Red Bull team Expresses Remorse Over Remarks Following Death Threats Against Driver Kimi Antonelli

The Red Bull racing outfit has released a comment stating its sincere regret for comments made that were followed by a torrent of social media vitriol, including death threats, directed at Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli.

Antonelli was said to have switched his Instagram profile to a solid black image on Monday, a response to the abusive comments that appeared on his accounts. His team stated that several of these communications constituted threats against the driver's life.

The situation originated with radio communications during the final laps of the recent race. Max Verstappen's race engineer suggested over the air that it "appeared as if" Antonelli had "deliberately moved aside" to let rival driver Lando Norris through.

This incident proved significant for the title fight, as the overtake earned him extra points. This increased the McLaren driver's championship lead over Verstappen to 12 points ahead of the final race in Abu Dhabi.

In its official communication, Red Bull asserted: "Comments made suggesting that Kimi Antonelli had deliberately allowed Lando Norris past are factually wrong. Video evidence demonstrates Antonelli briefly losing control of his car, thereby enabling Norris to get by. We deeply regret that this has resulted in Kimi receiving such abuse."

The team's announcement stopped short of a direct apology for the original claim. However, sources indicate that Lambiase later said sorry to Toto Wolff after reviewing footage of the incident.

"This is complete and utter rubbish. That blows my mind even to hear that," said Wolff. "We are fighting for second place in the constructors' championship... How brainless can you be to even say something like this?"

Wolff explained that he had cleared the air with Lambiase, who claimed he did not witness the actual incident when he made the comment. Mercedes noted a "massive surge" in abusive messages targeting Antonelli following the race.

For his part, Antonelli explained the racing incident as a simple mistake. He said he was pushing hard to catch Carlos Sainz and experienced a "big snap" that caused him to go off track and surrender fourth place.

"It was really hard with the dirty air and the high tyre temperatures," Antonelli remarked. "A shame to lose the place because it would have been two more points."

Main Takeaways from the Situation

• Red Bull has voiced remorse for comments made by a staff member.
• Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli was targeted by death threats in the wake of those comments.
• The disputed comment involved an on-track pass that affected the championship standings.
• Video evidence confirm Antonelli lost control, debunking the suggestion of team orders.
• The engineer involved has apologised to Mercedes management.