F1 | Kimi Antonelli speaks out after controversy and threats following Qatar GP incident. Kimi Antonelli breaks his silence after the accusations and online threats he received following the Qatar GP.

F1 | Antonelli case: Kimi breaks the silence after the accusations and threats received

Kimi Antonelli has spoken out again after the wave of hate he received following the mistake he made during the Qatar Grand Prix. The race in Qatar unfortunately ended with a disturbing episode of online abuse directed at Kimi Antonelli. The Mercedes driver was accused of deliberately giving up fourth place to Lando Norris in order to help him in the championship fight. After the incident, social media exploded with shocking comments aimed at the Italian, who decided to take a break from the internet. Only now have the first words from him arrived after what happened.

Fueling this idea were also a few immediate post-race comments from two Red Bull members. Giampiero Lambiase, Max Verstappen’s race engineer, told his driver over the radio that Kimi Antonelli had let Lando Norris through.

Later on, team advisor Helmut Marko also confirmed this theory. Following this, many more accusations were directed at the young driver born in 2006, who decided to hide his Instagram profile picture.

Mercedes immediately raised the issue and brought everything to the attention of the FIA, which reacted with an official statement condemning the spread of online hate. Red Bull, after realizing the damage caused, also issued its apologies in a press release, as did Helmut Marko and Giampiero Lambiase, who reportedly apologized to Toto Wolff right after the race.

Antonelli returns to social media

As for Antonelli, the driver had remained silent until just a few hours ago, when he decided to leave a comment under his latest Instagram post. “Thank you all for the support,” the young driver from Bologna simply wrote, repeating the message first in English and then in Italian.

It is a short comment, one that certainly does not erase all the hate the nineteen-year-old received, but at least confirms that Antonelli is aware of the support shared by fans after the unpleasant accusations made against him following the Qatar Grand Prix.

Kimi Antonelli may only be 19, but he has already shown remarkable maturity throughout his debut season. This brief return to social media is another sign that the hate will not break him – and that the overwhelming majority of the F1 world has his back.