Red Bull have apologised to Kimi Antonelli after suggesting the Mercedes driver had deliberately allowed Lando Norris to overtake him at Sunday's Qatar Grand Prix.

For the first time since 2010, more than two drivers have an opportunity to win the Formula One drivers' championship with just one race remaining in the season.

Lando Norris still leads the way with 408 points and will wrap up his first world title with a podium finish, but four-time defending champion Max Verstappen is 12 points behind the Brit and Piastri is just a further four back.

Verstappen boosted his hopes of retaining the crown by winning Sunday's Qatar Grand Prix ahead of Piastri and Carlos Sainz, with Norris following in fourth.

Norris only overtook Antonelli on the penultimate lap, securing two more potentially valuable points in the title race and prompting controversial comments from members of Red Bull's backroom team.

Verstappen's race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase said over team radio that Antonelli had "pulled over and let Norris through", while Red Bull's motorsport advisor Helmut Marko later said the Italian had "waved" Norris into P4.

Antonelli subsequently received abuse on social media, with Mercedes saying over 1,000 offensive messages had been directed towards the 19-year-old.

And Red Bull have now released an official apology, saying: "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.

"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."

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— Oracle Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) December 1, 2025

Marko's comments, in particular, served to enrage Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff, who said after the race: "We are fighting for P2 in the constructors' championship, which is important for us. Kimi is fighting for a potential P3.

"How brainless can you be to even say something like this? It annoys me because I'm annoyed with the race itself, how it went.

"I'm annoyed with the mistake at the end. I'm annoyed with other mistakes, and then hearing such nonsense blows my mind."

Mercedes are second in the team standings with 459 points, well adrift of McLaren, who have already been crowned champions and have 800 on the board.

The F1 season concludes on Sunday, with the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.