P1racenews AI automatic summary:
Wolff confronts Verstappen’s engineer after Antonelli McLaren accusations
Mercedes F1 chief Toto Wolff met with Max Verstappen’s race engineer after the Qatar Grand Prix to discuss comments made about the driver. The engineer, Lambiase, had mistaken a racing incident involving Kimi Antonelli as deliberate, impacting Verstappen’s title challenge. After reviewing replays, it became clear that Antonelli had lost control due to oversteer, proving the engineer’s initial assessment wrong. Wolff and Lambiase had a conversation with a Mercedes staff member present, with Wolff later stating that the air was cleared between them. Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko also retracted his claims about Antonelli letting a competitor pass, acknowledging it as a driving error. Verstappen was left amused after a supposed Red Bull driver announcement was accidentally leaked during the Qatar Grand Prix.
