George Russell believes Mercedes made the right call by running two different strategies, even though the decision ultimately handed a stunning win to his teammate Kimi Antonelli at the Italian Grand Prix. The race unfolded dramatically: after just 13 laps, Antonelli, who had started from 19th on the grid, surged through the pack and was only a second behind Russell when a Virtual Safety Car (VSC) was deployed with 25 laps remaining.
At that moment Mercedes elected to pit Antonelli for fresh medium‑compound tyres while leaving Russell out on his older hard tyres. When the VSC period ended, the pair were separated by roughly 15 seconds. From sixth place on the restart, Antonelli began a methodical climb, overtaking rivals one after another. With three laps to go he caught and passed Russell, securing his first home victory in front of the passionate Monza crowd.
The result left Russell 66 points adrift of Antonelli in the Drivers' Championship with ten races still to run. Russell explained his perspective to Sky Sports F1: "I was on the hard tyre and Kimi was on the medium tyre when the VSC came, so if either of us had 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 difficult for the medium‑tyre runners to match anyone on the hard. But that doesn’t take anything away from Kimi’s drive." He added that the team’s decision to split strategies was likely the safest option given the circumstances, especially with Max Verstappen also pitting under the VSC. "If we had both stopped, Kimi would have been stuck in the pit lane for a few seconds and could have lost track position to Max," Russell noted.
In hindsight, Russell admitted the situation looks clearer: "It’s easy now to say I should have pitted, or if I had won they would say Kimi should have stayed out. I would have loved a direct battle with Kimi – it was a great fight and I felt I was holding my own.
That’s probably why the team wanted us on different strategies. I get it." His teammate’s meteoric rise from P19 to the top step of the podium sparked mixed reactions among pundits. Naomi Schiff of Sky Sports F1 questioned Russell’s composure, asking why he didn’t appear more frustrated. "If you’ve given everything you have and you think you executed the best plan, and then your teammate beats you from the back of the grid, maybe there’s not much to be angry about except the fact that Kimi will be a massive challenge all season," she said.
Team principal Toto Wolff later revealed that Mercedes’ data analysis at the moment of the VSC indicated Russell’s hard‑tyre stint would be marginally quicker than Antonelli’s medium‑tyre run, predicting Antonelli would "come close but wouldn’t catch". The German outfit had counted on the hard tyre being a "forever tyre" capable of lasting the remainder of the race, whereas the medium compound offered higher peak performance but required a later stop. Wolff praised Antonelli’s ability to navigate traffic, drawing a parallel with past performances by Lewis Hamilton: "The differentiator today was the ability to go through traffic. We’ve seen it with other great drivers.
When a driver and a car become one, nothing can stop them." Going into the weekend, many had expected Antonelli to lose ground to his closest championship rivals – Russell, Hamilton and Lando Norris. Instead, his victory extended his lead, while Russell now faces a separate challenge: he lacks sufficient engine allocations to finish the season without a grid‑penalty, meaning he could start from the back in an upcoming race.
Despite the setback, Russell says he is not dwelling on the title battle. "We are where we are. Kimi has been incredible this season and deserves the championship lead. I’m not thinking about the fight or the comeback; I’m focusing on each race and trying to win it.
No pressure, just win more races," he affirmed. 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 from Friday, with streaming available via NOW on a no‑contract basis, cancellable at any time.
The Monza drama underscores how split‑strategy calls, tyre selections and timing of safety‑car periods can dramatically reshape a race outcome, and it will be fascinating to see how Mercedes and its drivers adapt their approaches in the remaining rounds of the 2024 season.