TOTO WOLFF LABELS RED BULL CLAIM 'UTTER NONSENSE' AFTER 'BRAINLESS' HELMUT MARKO COMMENT
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has labelled Red Bull's Helmut Marko as 'brainless' for suggesting Kimi Antonelli intentionally allowed Lando Norris to pass him at the Qatar Grand Prix.
Antonelli had been holding off championship leader Norris in the closing stages of the penultimate race of the season on Sunday.
The Mercedes driver, however, ran wide on turn 10 of the penultimate lap with Norris seizing the opportunity to overtake.
Norris would ultimately secure a fourth place finish, with the McLaren driver finishing behind race winner Max Verstappen, team-mate Oscar Piastri and Williams' Carlos Sainz.
The late pass of Antonelli ensured that Norris, despite missing the chance to secure the world title in Qatar, will take a twelve - rather than 10 - point lead over Verstappen into next weekend's decider in Abu Dhabi.
Verstappen's race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase had raised doubts over Norris' pass of Antonelli, as he radioed the Dutchman 'I don't know what happened to Antonelli. It looks like he simply pulled to the side and let Norris pass.'
Red Bull advisor Marko insisted that Antonelli had allowed Norris through, stating 'He waved him past, that was more than clear'.
The claim has been dismissed by Mercedes chief Wolff, who insisted Antonelli had made a mistake, while hitting back at Marko by accusing him of making a 'brainless' comment.
'Bless him,' Wolff said. 'Helmut, this is total, utter nonsense. That blows my mind, even to hear that.
'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.'
Wolff revealed he had spoken with Lambiase following the race, with the Red Bull engineer offering an apology for his radio remarks and admitted he 'didn't see the situation'.
'I spoke to GP,' Wolff said. 'I saw him, and obviously he was emotional in that moment, because they needed a P3, I guess, to help 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 less entry speed into the left-hander. It can happen. So with GP everything is clear. We cleared the air. He said that he didn't see the situation.
'But why would we do this? Why would we even think about interfering in a drivers' championship? You really need to check yourself whether you are seeing ghosts.
'I said to GP that there's quite a social media storm. He said, "sorry if I caused that, I didn't see the incident"'.
While Lambiase has apologised for his remarks, Marko doubled down on his comment following the race by stating 'Antonelli did it twice', referencing Piastri overtaking the Mercedes driver earlier on.
Red Bull have since issued a statement to apologise for the comments after watching replays of the incident.
The team added that it 'regretted' that Antonelli has since been the target of online abuse.
'Comments made before the end of and immediately after the Qatar GP suggesting that Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli had deliberately allowed Lando Norris to overtake him are clearly incorrect,' a Red Bull statement read.
'Replay footage shows Antonelli momentarily losing control of his car, thus allowing Norris to pass him.
'We sincerely regret that this has led to Kimi receiving online abuse.'
'I've looked at the footage again very carefully,' Marko added to F1 Insider.
'The first time [against Piastri], Antonelli could have put up a bit more of a fight. The second time, it was a driving error and not intentional.
'I'm sorry that Antonelli got so much flak online. To make it perfectly clear: He didn't let Norris past intentionally.'
According to Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf, Antonelli had received several death threats, with Mercedes planning to share all online messages addressed to the 19-year-old Italian driver with the FIA.
Antonelli has temporally deactivated his social media profiles.
The FIA has been behind a United Against Online Abuse campaign, which aims to help protect athletes, officials and volunteers.
Antonelli was insistent post-race that he had made a 'mistake', dismissing suggestions he had let Norris through.
'Obviously with two laps to go I went in a bit quick into turn nine and lost the rear and went off track,' Antonelli said.
'So definitely it was a mistake and I need to move forward now.'
Verstappen kept his hopes of a fifth straight title alive by earning a seventh win of the season, capitalising on a strategy error by McLaren.
The Dutchman will start the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 12 points behind Norris, while Piastri is a further four points back.
Read more- How did a relentless Kimi Antonelli end Verstappen's title dreams at Austria's home track, sparking a fierce Red Bull crisis?
- Did chaos erupt at the Italian Grand Prix with Verstappen's nerve-wracking opening move, prompting Lando Norris to brand him an 'idiot'?
- Max Verstappen's Unbelievable Blow! How did Kimi Antonelli's blunder end a phenomenal 31-race streak for the racing titan in Austria?
- How did Mercedes boss Toto Wolff react to allegations of foul play helping Lando Norris at the Grand Prix?
- How did Max Verstappen maintain his points lead despite McLaren's fervent challenge on Lando Norris's penalty decision at the US Grand Prix?
