RED BULL and Mercedes traded fierce blows as Helmut Marko accused Kimi Anontelli of letting Lando Norris pass him in Qatar.
Fuming Merc boss Toto Wolff then hit back slamming Red Bull as “brainless” and calling the claims “utter nonsense”.
The British McLaren driver bagged an extra two points by overtaking Antonelli for third on the penultimate lap of the race.
Antonelli had been defending for around ten laps but made a mistake, running wide as Norris zipped past him at the Lusail Circuit.
When Red Bull adviser Helmut Marko was asked if he was annoyed by Anontelli losing the place, he replied: “Yes, because it was twice where he more or less waved Lando by.”
“Let him by? It was so obvious.”
Max Verstappen won the race ahead of second-place Piastri and third-place Carlos Sainz to keep his title hopes alive.
Fuming Wolff said: “This is total utter nonsense. That blows my mind even to hear that. How brainless can you be to say something like this?
“We’re fighting for P2 in the championship, which is important for us, and Kimi is fighting for a potential P3 [in the race], and I mean, how brainless can you be to even say something like this?
“It annoys me, because I’m annoyed with the race itself, I’m annoyed with the mistake at the end, I’m annoyed with other mistakes, and then hearing such nonsense blows my mind.
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“The other thing beyond losing points in the constructors’ championship is that I spoke with [Gianpiero Lambiase],
“And I said to him: ‘He just went off, he had a bit of a moment in the previous corner, had less entry speed into the left-hander, put the gas down, and at the moment, which can happen, lost the position.’
“So with GP, everything is clear, he said he didn’t see the situation, but why would we do this?
“Why would we even think about interfering in the drivers’ championship? I mean, you need to check yourself whether you are seeing ghosts.”
Norris is now 12 points ahead of Verstappen while Piastri is 16 points adrift of the top of the table ahead of an epic showdown at the season finale in Abu Dhabi next weekend.
