Mercedes to take FIA action after Kimi Antonelli 'death threats'

The Mercedes F1 team is set to present social media comments and messages directed to Kimi Antonelli to the FIA after the Italian suffered online abuse.

The remarks came after Antonelli made a mistake on the penultimate lap of the Qatar Grand Prix which allowed Lando Norris through for fourth place.

Norris' position gain means he enters the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix with a 12-point lead over Max Verstappen, with the late move offering him a two-point boost in the title fight.

Shortly after the grand prix, Antonelli changed his profile picture to a black image.

While his latest Instagram post has various messages of support, there have also been comments of criticism for the rookie driver.

RacingNews365 understand that over 1,100 severe or suspect comments were flagged by the team's community management tools on Antonelli's accounts, with several of them being death threats or wishing harm upon him. 

Additionally, over 330 severe comments were flagged across Mercedes' accounts.

It is a matter Mercedes is taking very seriously and it will present the comments to the FIA as part of its United Against Online Abuse campaign.

After the race, Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko accused Antonelli of purposely letting Norris past for position.

The comment was dismissed by Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff, who labelled Marko's stance as “brainless”.

Helmut Marko has since backtracked on his original statement and expressed sympathy for the abuse being sent Antonelli's way.