Pink Bull has issued a press release saying it “sincerely regrets” the abuse Kimi Antonelli has obtained following feedback made about his driving through the Qatar Grand Prix.
Max Verstappen’s race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase instructed his driver over workforce radio that Antonelli “seems like he simply pulled over and let [Lando] Norris by means of” on the penultimate lap of the race, when the rookie made a mistake and ran large. Following the checkered flag, Pink Bull advisor Helmut Marko added his personal perception that Antonelli had twice allowed McLaren drivers to go, referring to Oscar Piastri’s transfer at Flip 1 earlier within the race.
Antonelli turned his Instagram profile image black after his account obtained plenty of abusive feedback.
“Feedback made earlier than the top of and instantly after the Qatar GP suggesting that Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli had intentionally allowed Lando Norris to overhaul him are clearly incorrect,” the assertion learn.
“Replay footage reveals Antonelli momentarily shedding management of his automobile, thus permitting Norris to go him. We sincerely remorse that this has led to Kimi receiving on-line abuse.”
Previous to the Pink Bull assertion, Mercedes workforce principal Toto Wolff had criticized each Marko and Lambiase for his or her feedback, and Lambiase issued an apology explaining he not seen the complete replay of what led to Norris getting by Antonelli.
Norris gained an extra two factors because of passing the Mercedes driver for fourth place on the penultimate lap, leaving him with a 12-point benefit over Verstappen within the combat for the drivers’ championship heading into the ultimate race of the season in Abu Dhabi.
