Kimi Antonelli Responds to Claims He Let Lando Norris Pass Amid Death Threats
Team principal Toto Wolff called the claims “brainless."
Published Dec. 1 2025, 2:03 p.m. ET
With two races to go in the 2025 F1 season, tensions were high at the Qatar Grand Prix on November 30, 2015.
Currently competing for the Drivers Championship are Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen. However, due to McLaren's strategy, Lando fell out of podium contention, with both Kimi Antonelli and Carlos Sainz passing him with only a few laps to go.
However, Lando ended the race in fourth place, passing Kimi, in what many fans believe was done on purpose by the Mercedes driver.
So, did Kimi let Lando pass? Here's what we know about what happened in Qatar, and what it means for the rest of the 2025 season.
Kimi Antonellis is being criticized for alleging letting Lando Norris pass in at the Qatar Grand Prix.
When the checker flag was waved at the 2025 Qatar Grand Prize, Lando arrived in the fourth position, giving him a 12-point lead over Max Verstappen for the Drivers' Championship.
Instantly, many called out Kimi for letting Lando pass on purpose. The 19-year-old driver was flooded with death threats on social media, despite Mercedes and other clubs denying the allegations.
Team principal Toto Wolff called the claims “brainless” and “total utter nonsense." Red Bull Racing also released a statement defending Kimi.
"Comments made before the end of and immediately after the Qatar GP suggesting that Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli had deliberately allowed Lando Norris to overtake him are clearly incorrect,” it read.
“Replay footage shows Antonelli momentarily losing control of his car, thus allowing Norris to pass him. We sincerely regret that this has led to Kimi receiving online abuse.”
Due to the backlash, Kimi blacked out his profile photo on social media. He also spoke out, denying he let Lando pass on purpose.
"I was trying to do my race, I was trying to get the podium, I was pushing hard.. and just lost the rear, and went off track.. that wasn't on purpose, nothing to do about it," he said.
Fans quickly defended the rookie, writing, "Kimi Antonelli put up a hell of a race but botched a turn giving Lando Norris a spot to pass him. And he gets death threats? F--k outta here," and "Kimi didn’t give Lando the position. He made a mistake. It happens. It’s his first year in Formula 1. Give him a break."
Helmut Marko also retracted his comments on Kimi Antonelli.
Helmut Marko is a former driver and Red Bull advisor who regularly provides commentary during the F1 season. Helmut apologized after alleging during the race that “Antonelli waved him past."
"I took another close look at the footage," Helmut told F1-insider. "The first time, Antonelli could have held his ground a little better [as Oscar Piastri passed him into Turn 1]. The second time, it was a driving error and not intentional. I'm sorry that Antonelli got so much flak online. To clarify once again: he didn't let Norris pass on purpose.
Despite the apologies, it has been reported that Kimi received over a thousand abusive messages, including death threats, and Mercedes is planning to present the comments to the FIA as part of its United Against Online Abuse campaign.