Max Verstappen responds to Kimi Antonelli apology after F1 title loss

Max Verstappen graciously reacted to Kimi Antonelli apologising to him in the media pen following the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, after the Dutchman lost the F1 drivers' championship to Lando Norris by two points.

The Red Bull driver took pole at the Yas Marina Circuit and stormed to victory, but with Briton finishing third, he was unable to retain the crown he has held since 2021.

Antonelli's apology is rooted in his mistake at the penultimate round of the season, the Qatar Grand Prix, where he made a late error when defending against the McLaren.

That allowed Norris through for fourth place, with the extra two points the difference at the end of a campaign — Verstappen would have taken the title on countback in the event of a tie, with eight victories to seven.

(It is important to note that McLaren would have allowed Norris past team-mate Oscar Piastri, who finished second in Abu Dhabi, so Antonelli's mistake cannot be considered decisive to the outcome of the championship.)

There was considerable controversy following what transpired at the Lusail International Circuit. Verstappen's race engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase, openly questioned Norris getting past the Mercedes over team radio, and Red Bull adviser Helmut Marko doubled down on that in the paddock after the chequered flag.

Despite it obviously being an error and not intentional, and Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff confirming what cameras clearly showed, Antonelli received a wave of abuse on social media, including death threats.

It led to the Milton Keynes-based team condemning and a statement from the FIA after over 1,100 reported occurrences of online hate towards the 19-year-old.

Nonetheless, Antonelli wanted to make peace with the situation and with Verstappen after 58 laps at Abu Dhabi, being seen saying "I'm really sorry" to the Red Bull driver as they embraced.

"Mate, don't be. It's all good. No hard feelings," the four-time F1 drivers' champion replied to the young Italian.

Check out a clip of the interaction between Verstappen and Antonelli below!