Fellow F1 drivers have rallied behind Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli ahead of the Abu Dhabi GP, after he received a wave of online abuse following a mistake in the closing laps of the Qatar GP.
In the last laps of the Qatar GP, Antonelli ran wide and lost a place to Lando Norris. Max Verstappen’s race engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase, later implied that the rookie had let Norris through to help him score more points. The comment triggered a surge of online abuse directed at the 19-year-old, accusing him of conceding the fight deliberately. In response, Antonelli changed all his social media profile pictures to black.
Red Bull released a statement condemning the online hate and said they “sincerely regret” Lambiase’s remarks. Lambiase also spoke directly with Antonelli to resolve the situation.
Drivers across the grid expressed strong support for Antonelli ahead of the Abu Dhabi GP, calling the hate “unacceptable” and reminding fans of the risks they take to provide entertainment
Russell condemns online abuse
George Russell, Antonelli’s teammate at Mercedes, described the online abuse Antonelli faced as “pretty unacceptable”. He criticised the toxic nature of online anonymity, noting that it provides no excuse for personal attacks.
“I think it’s pretty unacceptable what happened and what was written and the abuse online. Obviously, it all started with a mistake from Red Bull guys and of course they apologised and that’s OK. People make mistakes especially when you don’t have the full facts, but I think those thousands of people behind their keyboards have no excuse.“
Russell added that online hate is unacceptable not only in Formula 1 but across society, and those engaging in such behaviour should reflect on their actions.
“They really need to take a hard look at themselves in the mirror and think why that is acceptable. Not just for F1, but just society altogether. I just struggle to comprehend it really. That’s all I can say.“
Hadjar offers support to fellow rookie
Fellow rookie, VCARB’s Isack Hadjar said he had not spoken directly with Antonelli but sympathised with him, describing the criticism as unfair. He highlighted how drivers give their absolute maximum during races and that mistakes should never be misinterpreted as deliberate actions.
“I haven’t spoken to Kimi but it’s just unfair especially when you’re giving your absolute maximum during your race. I think it was fourth. You make a mistake and then there’s all these things said about you online.“
“I think it’s just very unfair because you give your absolute maximum and then it seems like you did this mistake on purpose. Which I think is very not nice. People behind their keyboards like George said are just idiots.“
Hadjar also pointed out that many online critics have no understanding of the complexities of racing, which explains why they comment without knowledge.
“They don’t know anything about racing, never drove ever in their life so that’s the only reason why they comment.“
Leclerc calls for accountability
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc echoed the sentiment of other drivers and labelled the situation “unacceptable“.
“I don’t have much more to add apart from that it’s unacceptable. Obviously, those people face no consequences for their words and for their disrespect towards drivers. It’s not up to us to think about the consequences that they should endure, but it’s a big shame because, as they said, we’re all here trying to do our absolute best.“
“We’ve done racing since we were kids dreaming of being in that position. Today, we are doing absolutely everything in order to be at the limit and sometimes mistakes happen.”
Leclerc reflected on his early years in Formula 1 and how online scrutiny made the transition even more challenging. He said mistakes are inevitable, especially for a newcomer, and that the level of hate Antonelli received was unwarranted.
“In that particular case, the hate was for absolutely nothing.“
He recalled his own experience with online comments: “I didn’t speak with Kimi. The only thing that you can do in those kind of moments is to ignore everything that is happening. That’s obviously very hard and especially when you are, I remember my first or second year in F1, you kind of look sometimes on social media what’s being said around you.“
“At least that was the case for me and that makes it even more difficult. Then I think with experience you kind of get used to but we shouldn’t really have to get used to these kind of behaviours and I hope that one day it will be tackled properly.“
Bearman condemns hostile fan behaviour
Meanwhile, Haas’ Oliver Bearman, who partnered with Antonelli at PREMA Racing in the 2024 F2 Championship harshly condemned the abuse as “an absolute joke“. Although he admitted he has not faced the same level of scrutiny as Antonelli, he emphasised that mistakes are part of learning and that hateful reactions are unacceptable.
Bearman told the media, “Well, I didn’t face that level of criticism, but that comes as part of being in a team like Haas rather than Mercedes. So, there’s also a benefit of starting your career in a team like Haas. You’re a bit less in the limelight. You have the possibility to make mistakes and be less criticised for those. But generally, it’s always the case that people behind the screen are horrible and they’re scum of the earth, really. I don’t think they should be doing that type of stuff to someone.“
“I understand that people who’ve been in F1 for a very long time can get used to it, and people who are rookies, it may be their first experience having that type of criticism, but that criticism is an absolute joke. It shouldn’t be tolerated and I know the FIA are doing everything they can to stop that, but the problem is these sad people giving those types of criticisms. It’s a joke.“
Bearman highlighted that online hate affects not just a driver’s performance but also their wellbeing, and offered the reminder that drivers, like himself and Antonelli, often endanger their lives and wellbeing to provide a good show.
“We’re putting our lives on the line to entertain people and to give the people who are passionate for the sport a good time and you have people like that who are just hurting people, and that’s not just racing, that’s also their personal life and I just think people are terrible. The real people of the world are terrible.“
