ABU DHABI: Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli on Thursday thanked Max Verstappen for his support as he revealed that the Red Bull driver and his race engineer had spoken to him after receiving death threats on social media following the Qatar Grand Prix.
For the latest updates, follow us @ArabNewsSport
The 19-year-old rookie made a mistake on the penultimate lap of last Sunday’s race which allowed series leader Lando Norris of McLaren to pass him and claim fourth place.
It earned Norris two more points in his bid to dethrone four-time champion Verstappen, who he leads by 12 points ahead of this weekend’s season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, and prompted Gianpiero Lambiase, Verstappen’s race engineer, to comment on team radio that Antonelli “had just pulled over and let Norris through.”
This led to Red Bull consultant Helmut Marko adding that he had suspicions about the move, suggesting a conspiracy against Red Bull and Verstappen, which Mercedes’ team chief Toto Wolff described as “brainless.”
