Kimi Antonelli blacks out social media account in response to Qatar backlash

Kimi Antonelli has turned his Instagram profile picture black after facing online abuse following the Qatar Grand Prix.

Antonelli finished fifth in Qatar on Sunday, losing out to F1 world championship leader Lando Norris win the closing laps.

The Italian ran wide at Turn 9 in Sunday’s race, gifting Norris fourth place and two extra points that could prove crucial in the title race.

Norris’ P4 finish in Qatar means he can now afford to finish third in Abu Dhabi and still secure the championship.

Antonelli’s mistake prompted an unusual comment from Red Bull engineer Gianpiero Lambiase, who told Verstappen: “Not sure what happened to Antonelli Max, looks like he just pulled over and let Norris through.”

Red Bull’s Helmut Marko then accused Antonelli of letting Norris through on purpose.

“He let him pass,” Marko told Sky DE. “It was too flashy.”

Wolff hits back

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has leapt to Antonelli’s defence, hitting back at Marko’s comments.

Wolff described Marko’s claim as “utter nonsense.”

“Bless him, Helmut. This is total, utter nonsense that blows my mind even to hear that,” Wolff said.

“We’re fighting for P2 in the championship, which is important for us. Kimi’s fighting for a potential P3 [in the race]. I mean, how brainless can you be to even say something like this?

“And 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.”

Verstappen will need to win the race, with Norris finishing fourth, to secure his fifth consecutive drivers’ title.

The Dutchman came out on top in Qatar after a strategy blunder from McLaren, who opted not to pit either driver under the Safety Car.

This cost Oscar Piastri an easy victory. Piastri is now 16 points behind his teammate heading to the Yas Marina Circuit this weekend.