Kimi Antonelli reveals Max Verstappen reached out after social media storm from Helmut Marko's comments

Kimi Antonelli has shared that Max Verstappen contacted him after the social media storm against him following the Qatar GP controversy. The Mercedes rookie was on the receiving end of a barrage of hate comments and death threats after Red Bull director Helmut Marko accused him of intentionally helping Lando Norris pass him for P4.

Norris had been stuck behind Antonelli for nearly 15 laps trying to pass him for P4. However, the championship leader made no headway, while his title rival, Max Verstappen, was en route to an unexpected win. Had Norris finished in P5, Verstappen would've closed the points gap to 10 points.

However, Kimi Antonelli made a mistake in Turn 10 on the final lap, which allowed Lando Norris to secure P4. So instead of the gap coming down to 10 points, it became 12. Helmut Marko claimed post-race that the Mercedes driver had intentionally helped Norris in the championship.

Many fans on social media went berserk against Antonelli, and he blacked out his profile picture. Ahead of the Abu Dhabi GP weekend, the 19-year-old shared that Max Verstappen reached out to him, advising him to ignore the hate.

"I cannot really say what he said because it contained some bad words, but he just said, don't worry about these kind of people, because they are brainless. So just focus on the job," said Antonelli.

Red Bull and Helmut Marko publicly apologized for the controversy a day after the Qatar GP. A recent report also claimed that Max Verstappen had forced his team to issue an apology to Kimi Antonelli. On Thursday in Abu Dhabi, several other drivers, including George Russell and Isack Hadjar, condemned the abuse towards the rookie.

Kimi Antonelli clarifies Qatar GP situation and appreciates Red Bull's apology

Kimi Antonelli at the F1 Qatar Grand Prix - Source: Getty

Besides Helmut Marko claiming that it was "so obvious" that Kimi Antonelli had let Lando Norris pass him, there was another statement that added to the controversy. After the last lap situation, Max Verstappen's race engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase, told the Dutchman on team radio:

"I am not sure what happened to Antonelli there. It looked like he just pulled over and let Lando through."

Antonelli addressed the situation in its entirety on Thursday. He first explained the on-track predicament he had, saying (as quoted by reporter Adam Cooper):

"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. 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. And especially after so many laps in dirty air, and pushing so hard, the mistake arrived."

The Mercedes driver then shared that Gianpiero Lambiase spoke to him after the race, and so did Antonelli with Verstappen, to clear the air.

"Then after the race to receive those kind of comments, definitely it hurt. Obviously, it was nice to see the Red Bull statement. Also, GP came to talk to me as well, and we clarified with Max."

The FIA had also stood up for Kimi Antonelli with a message on social media condemning the extreme abuse.