George Russell believes that Mercedes made the right call by running different strategies for his and Kimi Antonelli's cars, even though the decision ultimately saw him lose to Antonelli in a dramatic Italian Grand Prix. The race unfolded with Russell in the lead, only a second ahead of the young Italian who had surged from a 19th‑place start to the front of the pack after just 13 laps.
The gap was erased when a Virtual Safety Car (VSC) was deployed with 25 laps remaining, prompting Mercedes to pit Antonelli for fresh medium‑compound tyres while leaving Russell on his older hard tyres. When the VSC period ended, the two teammates were separated by roughly 15 seconds. From sixth on the grid, Antonelli methodically passed his rivals, one after another, and then caught Russell with three laps to go. He overtook the Briton in the final corners to claim victory on his home circuit.
The result left Russell 66 points behind Antonelli in the Drivers' Championship with ten races still to run. Russell explained his perspective: "I was on the hard tyre and Kimi was on the medium tyre when the VSC came, so if either of us were to pit, it would have been Kimi. I was a little annoyed by the timing of the VSC because, as Max said, it would have been tough for those on medium to compete with anyone on the hard. But it doesn’t take anything away from Kimi’s drive." Mercedes' decision to split strategies was based on data.
Team principal Toto Wolff disclosed that the team's simulation tools indicated Russell's hard‑tyre plan would be quicker overall, while Antonelli's medium‑tyre run was expected to stay close but not overtake. The engineers had long considered the hard tyre a "forever tyre" capable of lasting the entire distance, whereas the medium compound offered higher peak performance but would require a pit stop.
By pitting Antonelli, Mercedes hoped to give him fresh rubber to attack the field, while keeping Russell out to preserve track position against Red Bull's Max Verstappen, who also pitted under the VSC. In hindsight, Russell admitted the VSC timing felt awkward.
"I don’t think the team knew the exact right call, and because Max was in the fight, they chose to split the strategy, which was probably the right thing for the team," he told Sky Sports F1. He added that it is easy to second‑guess decisions after the fact: "In hindsight it’s easy to say I should have pitted, or if I had won they would have said Kimi should have stayed out. I would have liked a direct battle with Kimi – it was a nice duel and I felt I was holding my own.
That was probably another reason the team wanted us on different strategies. I get it." Naomi Schiff of Sky Sports F1 commented on Russell's relatively calm reaction: "I don’t know why he isn’t a bit more frustrated.
If you’ve given it your all and think you executed the best strategy, and then your teammate wins from P19, there may be little to be angry about except that Kimi will be a massive challenge this season." Wolff also highlighted the importance of traffic management in Antonelli's win. "The differentiator today was the ability to navigate traffic, something we’ve seen from great drivers in the past.
Lewis [Hamilton] demonstrated it in several races, and Kimi showed it today," Wolff said. "When a driver and a car are in perfect harmony, nothing can stop them." The outcome reshapes the championship picture.
Before the weekend, Antonelli was expected to lose ground to his closest rivals—Russell, Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris. Instead, his win extended his lead, while Russell now faces a grid‑penalty issue because he does not have enough allocated engines to finish the season without a penalty, meaning he could start from the back in an upcoming race. Despite the setback, Russell emphasized that he is not obsessing over the title battle. "We are where we are.
Kimi has been incredible this season and deserves his lead. I’m not thinking about the fight or a comeback; I’m just focusing on each race, trying to win it. I’m not putting pressure on myself to achieve a specific result.
I just need to win more races, and Kimi will be there as a benchmark," he said. Looking ahead, the Formula 1 calendar moves to Madrid for the Spanish Grand Prix at the brand‑new Madring circuit. All sessions will be broadcast live on Sky Sports F1 starting Friday, with streaming available via NOW without a long‑term contract.
The series promises more strategic intrigue, especially as teams continue to balance tyre choices, VSC timing and the ever‑present engine‑allocation constraints that could shuffle the grid in the remaining rounds of the season.