Helmut Marko apologizes for comments about Kimi Antonelli – Franco Colapinto calls on FIA to take action and criticizes penalties for swearing
Formula 1 is still in turmoil ahead of the season finale in Abu Dhabi: After the race in Qatar, Mercedes junior Kimi Antonelli was subjected to massive hostility and even death threats on the internet.
This was triggered by comments from Red Bull, namely motorsport consultant Helmut Marko and race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase, who accused Antonelli of simply letting the McLaren drivers pass in the battle for positions.
While Red Bull has since backtracked, the incident has sparked a new debate about the responsibility of the protagonists and how to deal with online hate.
“One more thing, this is the last straw,” Sky confronted Helmut Marko in Abu Dhabi with the consequences of his statements in Qatar. The Austrian showed understanding and confirmed that the original criticism of Antonelli was unjustified.
Marko admits mistake
“Yes, it was a misjudgment,” Marko admits. “In the heat of the battle and the phases, or let’s say the speed we got at first, it was of course different than when you looked at it in detail.”
Marko is affected by the force of the reactions his statements have triggered: “So I was appalled by these reactions on the internet. That was unfair, and we have apologized for it.”
Behind the scenes, Sky confirmed, there were clarifying discussions between Marko, Lambiase, and Mercedes officials.
But for many drivers, a mere apology is no longer enough to solve the underlying problem. Franco Colapinto, who himself became a target on social media this year, clearly sees the responsibility lying with those who start the fire in the first place.
Colapinto demands: Punish hate speech instead of swearing
The Williams driver points out that drivers are penalized by the FIA for using profanity, while statements that trigger waves of hatred often go unpunished.
“We have to be much more careful with what we say after or during races,” Colapinto warns. “When I watch the post-race interviews, I understand where the hatred against Kimi came from. That’s something that should be avoided before the hatred even arises. There’s someone behind it who creates it.”
The Argentine draws a direct comparison with the FIA’s current penalty policy: “We get penalties when we use bad language in the media. But people who say something that is completely wrong or generates hatred get nothing.“ That doesn’t feel ”super fair.“
Colapinto calls for a rethink
It’s worse to trigger a wave of hatred with careless statements without the full picture than to say ”shit or whatever,” Colapinto said. “Maybe we should take a look at that.”
The drivers’ union GPDA also takes a clear stance. George Russell calls the incidents “pretty unacceptable.” Admittedly, the Red Bull people made a mistake and apologized, which can happen when you don’t have all the facts. But: “Those thousands of people behind their keyboards have no excuse.”
“They really need to take a hard look in the mirror and think about why this is acceptable—not just for Formula 1, but for society as a whole,” says the Mercedes driver.
Isack Hadjar, who will be driving for the Racing Bulls in 2025, is even more blunt: “The people behind their keyboards are, as George said, just idiots. They all know nothing about racing, have never driven in their lives, that’s the only reason they comment.”
Drivers take a stand against online hate
Charles Leclerc adds that the hate in Antonelli’s case was “for absolutely nothing.” “It’s a great shame. We all do our best to be at the limit. And sometimes mistakes happen.”
An incident at Racing Bulls shows that the issue doesn’t just affect fans. Managing Director Peter Bayer confirmed to Sky that internal action had to be taken against an employee.
“We had a similar case ourselves, where one of our employees basically booed when Lando Norris [was standing] on the podium,” said Bayer. “We immediately made it clear that we don’t want that internally. We fight hard on the track, but we also have to be role models for young people.”
Tough but fair sport
Liam Lawson is drawing conclusions from the toxic atmosphere. According to Bayer, the New Zealander has stopped using social media: “Liam told me yesterday that he has stopped now, he’s not doing it anymore because it’s too stressful.” When you start reading the comments, you encounter “a lot of sad people,” according to Bayer. The FIA has now launched a campaign against online hate, but the events in Qatar show that there is still a long way to go before a clean tone is achieved.