FIA hits back at abuse, stands firm behind Kimi Antonelli
- Kavi Khandelwal
- 1 hour ago
- 2 min read
Written by Kavi Khandelwal
The FIA has released a forceful statement condemning "abuse and harassment in any form," specifically naming and offering support to Mercedes rookie driver Kimi Antonelli following a weekend of intense social media backlash.
The move follows direct intervention by Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff, who presented the issue of targeted harassment against his 19-year-old driver to the governing body. The team revealed that over a thousand hateful comments towards the young driver were flagged on their social media page.
This controversy began during the final laps of the 2025 Qatar Grand Prix. Antonelli, running in P4, made a mistake at Turn 9, losing the rear and running wide. Title contender Lando Norris, who was running behind, capitalized on the error to move past the Mercedes.
The initial suggestion of foul play came over the Red Bull team radio, when race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase commented to Max Verstappen that Antonelli had seemingly "pulled over and let Norris through." However, the situation dramatically escalated post-race when Red Bull Motorsport Advisor Dr. Helmut Marko publicly doubled down on the accusation.
Dr. Marko claimed the error was deliberate interference: "It was twice where he more or less waved Lando by. It was so obvious." When challenged on the comment, Dr. Marko stood by his position, saying: "Antonelli? If you go wrong like that twice, surely you can name it? It happened twice."
This claim—that Antonelli was intentionally manipulating the championship outcome—fueled an immediate wave of vile abuse targeting the young Italian driver online, prompting the response from Mercedes and, subsequently, the FIA. Toto Wolff passionately defended his driver against both the claims and the resulting abuse:
"This is total, utter nonsense that blows my mind even to hear that... How brainless can you be to even say something like this? Why would we even think about interfering in a Drivers’ Championship? You really need to check yourself."
The FIA's statement, released through their "United Against Online Abuse" campaign, firmly reinforced the sport’s rejection of the toxicity:
"The FIA, and its United Against Online Abuse campaign, condemns abuse and harassment in any form. It remains absolutely critical that everyone operating within our sport can do so in a safe and respectful environment."
"We stand in support of Kimi Antonelli and urge the wider community, online and offline, to treat drivers, teams, officials and the whole sporting ecosystem with the respect and compassion that they deserve."
The action underscores the commitment by the sport’s leadership to shield young talent from the corrosive effects of online toxicity, ensuring the focus remains on competition ahead of the final, decisive Grand Prix in Abu Dhabi.
