Max Verstappen has come to Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s defense after the young Mercedes driver faced a wave of online abuse following the Qatar Grand Prix. The abuse erupted when some F1 fans accused Antonelli of deliberately letting Lando Norris pass too easily in the final laps.
“What people say on social media is a problem with social media,” Verstappen told reporters including GPblog. “That has nothing to do with what Helmut actually says.”
The controversy was partly fueled by Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko’s initial comments suggesting Antonelli had “simply opened the door” for Norris. Marko fully retracted those statements a day later.
Verstappen explained the confusion stemmed from limited camera angles.
“The issue, I think, was that in the footage that came out first, it looked like he moved aside. That was the feed,” he said. “If you watch the replay, you see he had massive oversteer twice.”
The three-time world champion pointed to a much bigger issue beyond this specific incident.
“Why can people create all these accounts, even without a real name? It’s just not regulated. That’s a bigger problem.”
He stressed that even if someone makes a comment like Marko did, it doesn’t justify the vicious online response that followed.
“After what he said, it still doesn’t mean you can completely tear someone to shreds, does it?”
Verstappen revealed he personally reassured Antonelli and Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff that he saw nothing suspicious in the incident.
“I was in the car, so I had no idea what was going on. Until I saw the footage. Then it’s clear what happened there.”
The Dutchman praised Marko for correcting his initial take once he had seen all the available footage, calling it “only proper” to acknowledge when you’ve gotten something wrong.
Social media abuse has become an increasingly serious issue in F1, with drivers regularly facing harassment after controversial moments on track.
