Mercedes youngster Kimi Antonelli apologised to Max Verstappen in Abu Dhabi for 'costly' Qatar error.

As he crossed the line on Sunday, Antonelli asked his engineer, Pete Bonnington who had won the championship.

On being told it was Norris, the youngster asked by how much. "Norris P3, Sixteen and a half seconds," came the reply.

"How many points," asked Antonelli. "That was just two, just two points," he was told.

In the aftermath of the Qatar Grand Prix a week earlier, struggling with his car in dirty air, the youngster made a mistake and ran wide, allowing Norris through to claim fourth, and two vital points.

In the moments that followed, Verstappen's engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase, told the Dutch driver that Antonelli had let Norris through, a claim echoed by the Sky team. At race end, Helmut Marko also accused the Mercedes youngster outright of yielding to Norris.

The claim led to online abuse and even death threats, with Red Bull subsequently issuing a formal apology admitting that they had got it wrong.

Nonethless, to his eternal credit, Antonelli sought out Verstappen on Sunday following the race and apologised to the race winner.

"I'm really sorry," said the teenager.

"Mate, don't be," replied the four-time world champion. "It's all good. No hard feelings."

As helpfully pointed out by a Guardian journo shortly after, Verstappen cost himself a heap of points in Spain, not forgetting that mid-season 'lull' before the Monza updates.

Nevertheless, pure class from both drivers.