Untelevised Antonelli team radio emerges after Max Verstappen apology
Max Verstappen has been dethroned after four years at F1's summit
Untelevised team radio footage from the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix has revealed the moment Andrea Kimi Antonelli asked Mercedes to tell him Max Verstappen’s margin of defeat in the F1 2025 title race.
It comes after the youngster apologised to Verstappen for his mistake at the previous race in Qatar, which gifted two extra points to Verstappen’s main rival Lando Norris.
Untelevised Antonelli team radio emerges after Max Verstappen apology
McLaren driver Norris claimed his maiden F1 title in Abu Dhabi last weekend, with the British driver coming home third behind race winner Verstappen and second-placed Oscar Piastri.
Norris’s triumph saw Verstappen’s spell of dominance come to an end after the Red Bull driver won four consecutive titles from 2021.
Despite winning the final race of the season from pole position, Verstappen fell short of Norris by just two points in the final F1 2025 standings.
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Antonelli found himself subjected to a torrent of online abuse – including death threats – after his mistake in the closing stages of the recent Qatar Grand Prix promoted Norris to fourth place.
The two extra points gained by Norris proved crucial to the McLaren driver’s title success despite Verstappen ending the season with eight victories, one more than Norris and Piastri.
As reported by PlanetF1.com on Monday, Antonelli approached Verstappen in the post-race media pen in Abu Dhabi to apologise for his mistake in Qatar.
“Sorry about last week,” Antonelli told the Red Bull driver as the pair embraced.
Verstappen replied: “Mate, don’t [apologise]. It’s all good. It’s all good.”
Untelevised team radio from Abu Dhabi has revealed the moment Antonelli was informed of Verstappen’s defeat to Norris, with the teenager anxious to learn the final points gap between the main title contenders.
Antonelli’s race engineer, Peter Bonnington, is heard confirming that Verstappen won the race with Piastri and Norris coming home second and third respectively.
Bonnington then confirms that George Russell’s fifth-place finish has sealed second place in the constructors’ championship for Mercedes.
He says: “George finished P5, so that’s secured P2 in the constructors’.”
Antonelli replies: “So Norris won the championship?”
Bonnington: “Affirm, yes.”
Antonelli: “By how much?”
Bonnington initially misunderstands Antonelli’s question, giving the margin Norris had over Charles Leclerc, the Ferrari driver, who finished fourth.
Bonnington replies: “So, Norris P3. Six-and-a-half seconds.”
Antonelli: “No, but by how many points?”
Bonnington: “So that’s just two. Just the two points.”
Antonelli offered no response.
More on Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Max Verstappen from PlanetF1.com
As reported by PlanetF1.com, Antonelli revealed on Thursday in Abu Dhabi that Verstappen was among those to send a message of support after the abuse he received for his mistake in Qatar.
Antonelli said of Verstappen: “He saw what happened.
“He wasn’t bothered by anything. He even showed support, so really nice from him.
“I could not really say what he said, because the message contained some bad words, but he just said: ‘Don’t worry about these kind of people, because they’re brainless. So, just focus on the job.’”
Additional reporting by Mat Coch and Thomas Maher
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