Toto Wolff labels Red Bull claim ‘utter nonsense’ in ‘brainless’ Helmut Marko comment
Toto Wolff has denied Kimi Antonelli intentionally let Lando Norris past.
Toto Wolff has labelled the suggestion that Kimi Antonelli let Lando Norris through as “utter nonsense” after both Gianpiero Lambiase and Helmut Marko suggested as much.
Having held the McLaren at bay for a number of laps, Antonelli suddenly lost ground late on in the race to enable Norris to move to fourth but Wolff has denied claims that it was intentional.
Toto Wolff hits back at Kimi Antonelli claim
Norris’ lead went from 10 to 12 points after a move that Max Verstappen’s race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase was quick to infer was intentional.
“Not sure what happened to Antonelli,” Lambiase said. “Looks like he just pulled over and let Norris through.”
Red Bull’s senior advisor Helmut Marko continued the suggestion by saying it was clearly intentional and Antonelli did it twice but Wolff has dismissed that claim.
“Bless him,” Wolff said. “Helmut, this is total, utter nonsense. That blows my mind, even to hear that.
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“We’re fighting for P2 in the championship, which is important for us. Kimi is fighting for a potential P3. How brainless can you be to even say something like this?
“It annoys me, because I’m annoyed with the race itself, how it went. I’m annoyed with the mistake at the end. I’m annoyed with other mistakes and then hearing such nonsense blows my mind.
“The other thing is that beyond losing the points for the Constructors’ Championship, I spoke to GP, saw him, and obviously he’s emotional in that moment, because they needed a P3, I guess, to win the championship. Now, they need more.
“I said to him, Kimi just went off. He had a bit of a moment in the previous corner, and then entry speed into that left-hander, put the gas down and at that moment, which can happen, that lost the position.
“So with GP, everything is clear. Cleared the air. He said he didn’t see the situation. Why would we do this?”
“Why would we even think about interfering in a Drivers’ Championship? I mean, you really need to check yourself, whether you see ghosts.”
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