FIA issues statement following Kimi Antonelli death threats

The FIA has released a statement to confirm that it stands “in support” of Kimi Antonelli after the vile abuse aimed at the Mercedes driver.

The unacceptable abuse, which included death threats, came following an error from Antonelli late in the Qatar Grand Prix which Lando Norris capitalised on, directly impacting the title race. Gianpiero Lambiase and Helmut Marko of Red Bull originally called it a deliberate act from Antonelli, before fully rowing back on the accusation.

FIA throws support behind Kimi Antonelli

McLaren suffered for its decision not to pit behind the Safety Car on Lap 7, an opportunity which the rest of the field took. The end result was Max Verstappen winning the Qatar Grand Prix and giving himself a strong shot at winning a fifth straight title this weekend in Abu Dhabi.

Norris was restricted to fourth, but it was looking like P5 until Antonelli suffered a wide moment at Turn 10, which Norris pounced on. That means Norris heads to Abu Dhabi 12 points ahead of Verstappen, rather than 10, as it was going to be.

Verstappen’s race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase suggested that Antonelli had deliberately moved aside for Norris, as he spoke in the heat of the moment over team radio.

Red Bull senior advisor Helmut Marko doubled down on the accusation post-race, before retracting his claim and apologising to Antonelli, who was subjected to vile online abuse in the Qatar GP aftermath.

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff spoke with Lambiase after the race, and gave a stern response to Marko’s original comments, calling him “brainless”.

Antonelli has since blacked out his social media profile pictures, understood to be in direct response to the abuse.

More on Kimi Antonelli from PlanetF1.com

👉 Kimi Antonelli subjected to death threats in vile social media attacks

👉 Kimi Antonelli addresses Lando Norris Qatar incident amid death threats

Formula 1’s governing body, the FIA, has released a statement to PlanetF1.com, rightly condemning the abuse, while throwing their support behind Antonelli.

This is a subject which the FIA is committed to tackling via its FIA United Against Online Abuse initiative.

“The FIA, and its United Against Online Abuse campaign, condemns abuse and harassment in any form,” the statement reads.

“It remains absolutely critical that everyone operating within our sport can do so in a safe and respectful environment.

“We stand in support of Kimi Antonelli and urge the wider community, online and offline, to treat drivers, teams, officials and the whole sporting ecosystem with the respect and compassion that they deserve.”

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