Marco Antonelli defends son Kimi from vicious social media abuse after Lando Norris pass controversy. Kimi Antonelli faces online abuse after a mistake in Qatar.

Marco Antonelli has spoken out after his son Kimi was subjected to online abuse following an incident in Qatar. The Mercedes driver’s father defended him against the same haters “who would then ask for a photo.”

The incident in Qatar

The incident that sparked the unjustified criticism occurred on the penultimate lap of the Lusail GP, when Kimi Antonelli made a mistake and let Lando Norris pass behind him. It was clearly an unfortunate error, but comments from Giampiero Lambiase and Helmut Marko further fueled social media backlash, accusing the 2006-born driver of favoring the McLaren driver against Verstappen in the championship fight.

Following this, Kimi Antonelli temporarily deactivated his Instagram profile, which has only recently become visible again, while Red Bull issued an official apology. Mercedes, on the other hand, reported the matter to the FIA, which condemned all forms of online abuse.

Marco Antonelli defends his son

On December 2, Kimi’s father decided to speak out in his defense, thanking supporters and condemning those who wrote hateful messages. “Thanks to everyone who has written to support Kimi. He knows that these people writing such things do not deserve to be considered. They would be the first to ask for his autograph if they ever met him,” Marco Antonelli wrote on his Instagram profile.

“This is not the first time it has happened and unfortunately it won’t be the last. This will continue until the law punishes those who write threats and insults on social media. What matters are the people who love him, and they are more important than the others. Your family is always with you. We love you, Kimi.”

Kimi returns to social media

The Bolognese driver has recently returned to being active on social media, and it is hoped that he has already put the incident behind him to finish the season strongly in Abu Dhabi.

The incident has once again highlighted the dark side of social media in modern Formula 1 and reignited calls for tougher action against online abuse directed at drivers.