From Online Abuse to Moving On: Antonelli Finds Support

Mercedes reported more than 1,000 severe or suspect comments across its and Antonelli’s channels, prompting the rookie to black out his social media profile and step away from reading messages. Ahead of the Abu Dhabi finale, Antonelli explained that support from family, friends, the Mercedes team and several rivals enabled him to “forget what happened” and regain focus on racing.

Verstappen’s message: ignore the “brainless” trolls

Antonelli revealed that Max Verstappen personally reached out once the scale of the harassment became public. According to Antonelli, Verstappen told him not to worry about the people posting abuse, describing them as “brainless” and urging him to concentrate on doing his job on track.

The Italian said Verstappen “wasn’t bothered at all” by the Qatar incident after reviewing what really happened, and that the reigning champion’s blunt show of support was “really, really nice” at a difficult moment. Antonelli added that Red Bull race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase also came to speak to him in person, helping to clear the air.

Red Bull’s regret and paddock solidarity

Following a backlash to post‑race remarks implying Antonelli had “pulled over” for Norris, Red Bull issued a statement calling those suggestions “clearly incorrect” and saying they “sincerely regret” the abuse that followed. Replay footage used by both teams and the FIA showed Antonelli simply ran wide and briefly lost control while pushing for a podium.

The FIA released a statement denouncing online hate and backing the Mercedes rookie, while Antonelli himself has called for such abuse “not to happen” again in similar situations.

Focused on racing, not trolls

Looking ahead to Abu Dhabi and beyond, Antonelli says his focus is now entirely back on performance, using the Qatar episode as experience rather than a burden. He reiterated that he was fighting for third place at the time of the mistake and that pushing at the limit of tyre grip inevitably carries risks, but that such errors should never justify personal attacks.

With strong backing from Mercedes and open support from rivals like Verstappen, Antonelli considers the matter closed on a personal level, preferring to be judged by his driving rather than distorted narratives on social media.