On the penultimate lap, Antonelli slid wide at Turns 9 and 10 while defending fourth from Norris, allowing the McLaren driver to gain two crucial championship points heading into the final race in Abu Dhabi.
Red Bull Advisor Marko, however argued that Antonelli’s manoeuvre was deliberate, telling Sky DE: “He let him pass. It was too flashy.”
Verstappen’s engineer Gianpiero Lambiase had also suggested over team radio that Antonelli “just pulled over and let Norris through.”
LAP 57/57
A potentially crucial move by Norris
He gets past Antonelli on the final lap to take P4 and 12 valuable points #F1 #QatarGP pic.twitter.com/hwzTj36Qw7
— Formula 1 (@F1) November 30, 2025
Speaking after the race, Mercedes team principal Wolff was unimpressed by the accusation and quick to defend his driver.
“Bless him, Helmut. This is total and utter nonsense that blows my mind,” Wolff said.
“We’re fighting for P2 in the championship, which is important for us, and Kimi’s fighting for a potential P3.
Secure your spot today.
“How brainless can you be to even say something like this?”
Wolff also addressed the radio message from Lambiase.
“I spoke to GP. I saw him, and obviously, he was emotional in that moment, because they needed one position, I guess, to [help] win the championship,” he said.
“Now they need more. And I said to him, he just went off. He had a bit of a moment in the previous corner, and then had less entry speed into that left-hander, put the gas down and had that moment, which can happen, that lost the position.
“So with GP, everything’s clear. Cleared the air. He said he didn’t see the situation.
“Why would we do this? Why would we even think about interfering in a driver championship? I mean, you really need to check yourself whether you see ghosts.
“I said to GP that there’s quite a social media storm and GP said, ‘Sorry if I caused that.'”
The Mercedes chief also reflected on his team’s own race. Antonelli and George Russell finished fifth and sixth respectively, with Wolff lamenting mistakes and lost track position.
“When George was in free air, he did a 23.2—a second quicker than before,” he said.
“With these cars now at the end of their life, you need the free air to perform.
“The moment you’re in traffic, the turbulence is so bad that your performance drops, and you have no chance to recover.”
Mercedes currently holds a 33-point lead over Red Bull in the constructors’ championship, while Norris heads to Abu Dhabi with a 12-point advantage over Qatar Grand Prix winner Verstappen, with Oscar Piastri a further four points back in third.
McLaren strategy slip gives Verstappen Qatar win, ignites three-way title battle
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