Oliver Bearman has called people abusing Andrea Kimi Antonelli “scum of the earth” after the Mercedes driver received a swathe of criticism after Formula 1‘s Qatar Grand Prix.
The 19-year-old rookie put up a staunch defence against championship Leader Lando Norris in the closing phases of the race at the Lusail International Circuit last weekend.
Antonelli, however, couldn’t hold the McLaren driver up in fifth until the chequered flag as a penultimate lap mistake saw him veer off the road, and Norris cruised past his W16.
This seemingly irked many fans online, who believed that the Mercedes driver had simply allowed Norris to move past him and minimise his points loss to race-winner Max Verstappen heading into the season finale in Abu Dhabi.
Verstappen’s race engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase, and team advisor Helmut Marko had also made comments in proximity to this incident, suggesting a deliberate attempt by the Italian to accommodate the Woking-based team that so happens to be a customer outfit of the German marque.
The Milton Keynes-based squad has since issued a statement “regretting” the online abuse Antonelli has received, but the aftermath of this incident saw the Italian deeply disturbed, even blacking out his social media profile pictures.
Fellow rookie, Bearman, however, leapt to his defence while addressing the media ahead of the race weekend at the Yas Marina Circuit.
“I think generally it’s always the case that people behind the screen are horrible and they’re scum of the earth, really,” he told media including Motorsport Week.
“I don’t think they should be doing that type of stuff to someone.”
Bearman reveals the F1 rookie privilege that Antonelli has lost
Bearman highlighted how the media scrutiny on someone like Antonelli is always much more pronounced than what he faces, given how they race on opposite ends of the grid.
That said, it doesn’t change the fact that both of them are rookies, and social media abuse, in any way whatsoever, can never be condoned.
“I didn’t face that level of criticism, but that comes as part of being in a team like Haas rather than Mercedes. So there’s also a benefit of starting your career in a team like Haas,” he explained. “You’re a bit less in the limelight. You have the possibility to make mistakes and be less criticised for those.
“I understand that people who’ve been in F1 for a very long time can get used to it and people who are rookies, it may be their first experience having that type of criticism, but that criticism is an absolute joke.
“It shouldn’t be tolerated and I know the FIA are doing everything they can to stop that, but the problem is these sad people giving those types of criticisms. It’s a joke.
The Briton did not mince his words as he called out the swarm of fans attacking the Italian rookie online as “terrible” people.
“We’re putting our lives on the line to entertain people and to give the people who are passionate for the sport a good time,” added Bearman.
“And you have people like that who are just hurting people and that’s not just racing, that’s also their personal life and I just think people are terrible. The real people of the world are terrible.”
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