F1 drivers tear into “scum of the earth” abuse of Kimi Antonelli

F1 drivers have rallied around Kimi Antonelli after the abuse the Mercedes rookie faced in the wake of the Qatar Grand Prix.

Antonelli was subjected to abusive messages on social media and even death threats after the 19-year-old Italian ran wide and lost a position to McLaren’s Lando Norris in the closing stages of last Sunday’s race.

This came after Max Verstappen’s race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase said over team radio to the Dutchman that it “looked like” Antonelli had “just pulled over and let Norris through”, while Red Bull’s Helmut Marko alleged the Mercedes driver had deliberately waved Norris by.

Norris gained an additional two points from the late position change which means the Briton heads into this weekend’s three-way title decider at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix with a 12 point-lead over Verstappen.

The abuse of Antonelli has been widely condemned by F1 drivers and governing body the FIA, with Haas’s Ollie Bearman issuing a scathing response on Thursday.

"I think generally it's always the case that people behind the screen are horrible and they're scum of the earth, really,” Bearman said in Abu Dhabi.

"I don't think they should be doing that type of stuff to someone,” he said, before adding that this level of abuse can be especially difficult for rookies to digest.

“I understand that people who've been in F1 for a very long time can get used to it and people who are rookies, it may be their first experience having that type of criticism, but that criticism is an absolute joke.

“It shouldn't be tolerated and I know the FIA are doing everything they can to stop that, but the problem is these sad people giving those types of criticisms. It's a joke.

“We're putting our lives on the line to entertain people and to give the people who are passionate for the sport a good time and you have people like that who are just hurting people and that's not just racing, that's also their personal life and I just think people are terrible. The real people of the world are terrible.”

On whether he has faced any online abuse, Bearman said: "I didn't face that level of criticism, but that comes as part of being in a team like Haas rather than Mercedes.

“So, you know, there's also a benefit of starting your career in a team like Haas. You're a bit less in the limelight. You have the possibility to make mistakes and be less criticised for those.”

Abusers face no consequences

Red Bull issued a statement saying they “sincerely regret” comments made after the race in Qatar, while Marko has since apologised and retracted his accusation.

Antonelli’s teammate George Russell, who is the head of the GPDA (Grand Prix Drivers’ Association) said: "It all started with a mistake from the Red Bull guys, and of course, they apologised, and that's okay.

"People make a mistake, especially when you don't have the full facts. But I think those thousands of people behind their keyboards have no excuse and really need to take a hard look at themselves in the mirror and think why that is acceptable - not just for F1, but just society altogether.

"I just struggle to comprehend it, really.”

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, sat alongside Russell in the first FIA drivers’ press conference in Abu Dhabi on Thursday, added: "Those people face no consequence for their words and for their disrespect towards drivers.

“So, it's not up to us to think about the consequences that they should endure, but it's a big shame because we're all here trying to do our absolute best.

"We've done racing since we were kids, dreaming of being in that position, and today we're doing absolutely everything in order to be at the limit. And sometimes mistakes happen.

“In that particular case, also, the hate was for absolutely nothing."

Soon-to-be Red Bull driver Isack Hadjar, who joined Russell and Leclerc, labelled the abusers as “idiots”.

Verstappen, Norris messaged Antonelli

Antonelli revealed that he received messages of support from Verstappen and Norris, while he also spoke to both Verstappen and Lambiase in person to clarify the incident.

“It was not easy to get all those kind of comments, after the race, especially for something that I would never do such as waving past a competitor,” Antonelli said.

“I was fighting for P3. At the end of the day, I was pushing hard and I was trying to get into the DRS of Sainz. After so many laps in dirty air I’m pushing so hard, the mistake arrived, because I obviously every lap I was pushing a bit more and more to get closer and I arrived to the point where the tyre gave up.

“At that moment I did a mistake and Lando passed me and, you know, then after the race to receive those kind of comments, definitely it hurt.”