Mercedes Formula 1 driver, Kimi Antonelli, has decided to deactivate his social media accounts due to receiving numerous death threats and over 1,100 offensive messages following the Qatar Grand Prix. The 19-year-old faced severe online harassment from trolls after a mistake in the race allowed Lando Norris to overtake him, resulting in Norris gaining crucial points that could impact the championship standings. Currently, Norris holds a 12-point lead over Max Verstappen, the race winner in Qatar, meaning Norris only needs a third-place finish in the upcoming Abu Dhabi finale to secure the world championship title.
After the race, Antonelli changed his Instagram profile picture to an all-black image, hinting at potential online abuse he might be facing. Reports indicate that more than 1,100 negative comments were directed at Antonelli’s personal accounts, with an additional 330 on the Mercedes team’s pages, some of which included threats towards the young driver’s safety.
In response, the Mercedes team is compiling all offensive remarks to submit to the FIA as part of the United Against Online Abuse initiative. This action follows comments from Red Bull executives suggesting Antonelli’s actions may have favored Norris during the race. Verstappen’s race engineer expressed confusion over the incident, with team advisor Helmut Marko claiming Antonelli intentionally allowed Norris to pass without resistance.
Toto Wolff, Mercedes team principal, dismissed these claims, criticizing Marko and clarifying the situation with the team’s race engineer. Red Bull later issued a statement regretting the remarks that sparked online abuse towards Antonelli, acknowledging that replay footage showed Antonelli losing control of his car, leading to Norris overtaking him.
In other news, Sky has enhanced its Ultimate TV and Sky Sports bundle to include popular streaming services like HBO Max, Netflix, Disney+, discovery+, and Hayu, alongside 135 channels and comprehensive coverage of Formula 1 races. Sky offers exclusive broadcasting of Formula 1 events, including practice sessions, qualifiers, and races, as well as coverage of other sports leagues such as the Premier League, EFL, darts, and golf.