The emotional remark made by Verstappen’s race engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase, followed by Helmut Marko’s statements accusing Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli of deliberately letting Lando Norris pass, triggered a wave of negativity and even threats toward the young Italian. As a result, Antonelli was forced to close his social media accounts.
Today, Marko retracted his comments, and Red Bull issued an official statement clarifying that the accusations against Antonelli were unfounded. Footage shows that the Mercedes driver briefly lost control of his car, which allowed Norris to overtake. Red Bull emphasized that they deeply regret the online harassment directed at Kimi as a consequence of the situation.
