ABU DHABI: Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli on Thursday thanked Max Verstappen for his support as he revealed that the Red Bull driver and his race engineer had spoken to him after receiving death threats on social media following the Qatar Grand Prix.
The 19-year-old rookie made a mistake on the penultimate lap of last Sunday’s race which allowed series leader Lando Norris of McLaren to pass him and claim fourth place.
It earned Norris two more points in his bid to dethrone four-time champion Verstappen, who he leads by 12 points ahead of this weekend’s season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, and prompted Gianpiero Lambiase, Verstappen’s race engineer, to comment on team radio that Antonelli “had just pulled over and let Norris through.”
This led to Red Bull consultant Helmut Marko adding that he had suspicions about the move, suggesting a conspiracy against Red Bull and Verstappen, which Mercedes’ team chief Toto Wolff described as “brainless.”
The comments, broadcast widely during the race, sparked a slew of abusive comments, including death threats on Antonelli’s social media. Mercedes reported a rise of 1100 percent in hateful comments on their social media channels.
“It wasn’t easy to get those comments after the race, for something that I would never do, waving past a competitor,” said Antonelli. “I was fighting for P3 at the end of the day. I was pushing hard and pushing so hard, the mistake arrived.
“Every lap, I was getting closer to the point where the tires gave up and at that moment, I made the mistake, and Lando passed me.
“Then to receive those comments after the race, it definitely hurt.”
But the young Italian said he has subsequently received support from other members of the paddock.
“It was nice to see the Red Bull statement (issued on Monday) and then Lambiase came to talk to me as well and I also clarified it with Max. I had a lot of support and it helped me to forget what happened and focus on this weekend,” he said.
“Max saw what happened and he wasn’t bothered... He even showed me support.
“That was really nice from him and I can’t say what he said because it contains some bad words, but it was just ‘don’t worry about these kinds of people, because they’re brainless, so just focus on the job’.”
Ruling body the International Motoring Federation also issued a statement of support for Antonelli and condemned the online abuse.
Verstappen, who is aiming for a fifth-consecutive world title on Sunday in a threeway race with McLaren’s Norris and Oscar Piastri, defended Red Bull’s initial reaction to the incident.
“What people say on social media is a problem with social media and that has nothing to do with what Helmut (Marko) actually says,” said Verstappen on Thursday.
“After what he said, it still doesn’t mean you can completely tear someone to shreds, does it?
“That’s the problem to tackle with social media. Why can people create all these accounts even without a real name? It’s just not regulated.”
Antonelli thanks Verstappen for support after online death threats
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Antonelli thanks Verstappen for support after online death threats
- “It wasn’t easy to get those comments after the race, for something that I would never do, waving past a competitor,” said Antonelli
- “I was fighting for P3 at the end of the day. I was pushing hard and pushing so hard, the mistake arrived”
Lowry and Elvira share halfway lead at Dubai Invitational
- Irishman Lowry began the day 3 shots behind Grand Slam champion Rory McIlroy before finishing with 68
DUBAI: Shane Lowry and Nacho Elvira both produced brilliant rounds of 68 in windy conditions to earn a two-shot lead at the 2026 Dubai Invitational.
The Irishman began the day three shots behind good friend and Grand Slam champion Rory McIlroy, but some stunning iron play and clutch putting saw him overhaul his playing partner.
Lowry is aiming to secure his first DP World Tour title since winning the 2022 BMW PGA Championship and he showcased his quality with five birdies and two bogeys.
Spaniard Elvira surged into contention thanks to four birdies in his final six holes for a matching 68 — the best rounds of the day — to set the clubhouse target of five under.
Having been joined at the summit of the leaderboard earlier in the day, McIlroy regained his one-shot advantage when he birdied the third to reach six under.
That lead was briefly extended to two when Antoine Rozner’s early birdie burst was offset by a double bogey, but McIlroy dropped a shot at the sixth.
A skewed chip left a difficult par putt for McIlroy to save par at the ninth and when it slid by, he was in a two-way tie for the lead at four under.
In the group ahead, Lawrence carded back-to-back birdies at the fourth and fifth — the latter with a sumptuous hole-out from the bunker — to join that mark.
Lowry opened with birdie-birdie for the second day running and despite a bogey at the fifth, he picked up the shot at the very next hole. A bogey at the ninth saw him slip back one, but he responded immediately with a lovely birdie putt at the 10th to rejoin the lead.
None of the trio could jump ahead on their own as they reached the turn, which saw Armitage increase the leadership group to four.
The Englishman, who started on the back nine, mixed two birdies and two bogeys during his front nine and then picked up shots at the second and fourth to reach the summit.
However, by the time McIlroy and Lowry finished the 14th hole, the latter was in the sole lead.
Lawrence had bogeyed the same par-three hole, Armitage dropped a shot at the ninth — his last — and McIlroy found the water at the 14th as the trio slipped back to three under.
That left Lowry on his own at the top. He was briefly joined by Elvira and McIlroy when the latter rolled in a 46-foot putt at the 16th for birdie, but Lowry followed suit from 31 feet to maintain his one-shot lead at five under.
McIlroy found the water for the fourth time at the 17th as he finished with back-to-back bogeys to sit three behind the joint leaders.
“Very happy (with the round),” said Lowry. “It was hard. It was tricky. You know, like that putt on the last hole, you don’t hole a lot of putts like that, and I did well. I did a good job. A couple sloppy mistakes on the front nine, but I was playing good and giving myself chances.
“I just had a great day out there. I really enjoyed it. I had a great group. Two great amateurs, and playing golf in a good frame of mind makes it a little bit easier. That’s sort of a little lesson for me for the rest season. If I play golf like that for the rest season in that frame of mind, I’ll be pretty good.”
Elvira had carded three bogeys and two birdies during his first 12 holes, but his birdie blitz to complete his second round propelled into the share of the lead with Lowry.
“I feel like off the tee I hit it really well,” said Elvira. “That’s something I struggled with in the past, and we made a couple changes, and I think it’s paying off. So, I’m very happy with the way I’m hitting it off the tee. It’s putting me in good positions to take advantage.”
Armitage and Spain’s David Puig were tied for third at three under, while McIlroy, Lawrence, Rozner and Spain’s Angel Ayora were one shot further back at two under.
American Ryggs Johnston recorded the first hole-in-one of 2026 when he aced the 218-yard par-three eighth with a six iron.
In the team competition, Jimmy Dunne, who was paired with Lowry, leads the way on 12 under, one stroke ahead of Greg Mondre and Dante Jimenez.
