Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has argued that George Russell was denied pole position for the Italian Grand Prix because Max Verstappen “got done over” him in the final moments of qualifying at Monza. Russell appeared to be on track for the top spot, but his ultimate flying lap was disrupted when the Red Bull driver slowed down ahead of him and his teammate Kimi Antonelli, compromising the Brit’s rhythm.
Mercedes had strategically placed championship leader Antonelli ahead of Russell to provide a slipstream, knowing that the Italian driver was serving a penalty for exceeding his allocated engine components and would start from the back regardless of his qualifying result. Even with Antonelli’s tow, Russell managed to improve his time and briefly set the fastest lap, only for Alpine’s Pierre Gasly to snatch pole in one of the most surprising qualifying outcomes in recent F1 history.
When Sky Sports F1 asked Wolff whether anything had gone wrong for Russell, the Mercedes boss replied: “Yes, at the end he got done over by Max in the final run when launching the lap. It was just too close, and that compromised the lap time and cost us the pole.” At Monza, a tow from a car ahead is crucial for extracting maximum speed on the long straights, and Verstappen attempted to force another vehicle in front after losing the draft from the McLarens ahead of him. As Verstappen decelerated approaching the final corner, Antonelli passed the Red Bull, while Russell was left trailing just behind the pair. While a slipstream can boost performance, being too close to the car ahead for the entire lap can also hinder the driver’s ability to optimise his own line and throttle application.
Russell confirmed this was the case, saying: “We had a bit of a mess with Verstappen entering the lap. He wanted the tow, Kimi was there as well, and I did my lap a second and a half behind Max, which wasn’t ideal.” When asked if Mercedes could have avoided the situation, Russell answered that the team had done everything correctly until Verstappen unexpectedly braked hard into the Parabolica, refusing to act as the lead car. “It’s one of those things you can’t control,” Russell explained.
“Kimi gave me a perfect slipstream on the first run, but Max’s sudden slowdown made it difficult for Kimi to know what to do as well. In hindsight it might have been better not to attempt that strategy, but we wanted to give it everything.” Despite his disappointment, Russell remains confident about his chances to close the 59‑point gap to Antonelli in the drivers’ championship. He told Sky Sports F1: “I’m feeling good.
The key is a clean start and a clean first lap. If I’m in the top three or four after the opening laps, I still have a solid shot at victory. That’s the goal.” Verstappen, who qualified sixth, did not comment directly on the incident but admitted his own performance had been hampered by a mechanical issue that made the car behave like a “kangaroo” over bumps.
“Something failed again on the car as soon as I went out for qualifying,” he said. “It’s something we’re aware of and it’s happening more often this year.
The lack of ride‑control means the car jumps on kerbs and low‑speed sections, costing lap time and making consistency impossible.” He added that the car had shown improvement in the final practice session, but the persistent bouncing prevented the team from fully exploiting its potential. Verstappen qualified sixth but will start fifth after Oscar Piastri received a grid penalty for impeding.
Regarding the race, he noted: “We need to fix whatever part is causing this, otherwise it will be tough to race like this.” The weekend’s schedule includes an F3 feature race at 7:10 am, an F2 feature at 8:40 am, the Porsche Supercup at 10:40 am, followed by the build‑up to the Italian Grand Prix and the race itself at 2 pm on Sky Sports F1. A post‑race analysis and commentary will follow later in the afternoon. In summary, Wolff attributes Russell’s loss of pole to Verstappen’s unexpected slowdown, which disrupted the delicate slipstream balance crucial at Monza. While Mercedes acknowledges the incident was largely out of their control, the team remains optimistic about the race weekend, hoping a clean start and strategic execution will allow Russell to fight for a podium and keep his championship hopes alive.