Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has argued that George Russell was denied the top spot on the grid for the Italian Grand Prix because he was "done over" by Max Verstappen in the final moments of qualifying at Monza. Russell had looked set to confirm his reputation as the pole favourite, but his ultimate flying lap was disrupted when the Red Bull driver slowed down in front of both him and his Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli. Mercedes had deliberately placed championship leader Antonelli ahead of Russell to provide the British driver with a slipstream, knowing that the Italian would start from the back of the grid regardless of his qualifying time due to penalties for exceeding his allocated engine components.
The plan was to give Russell a clean tow on his final attempt. Russell managed to improve his time and briefly topped the session, only to see his pole position snatched away by Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, who delivered one of the most surprising qualifying performances in recent Formula 1 history.
When Sky Sports F1 asked Wolff whether something 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, ultimately costing him pole." At Monza, a tow from the car ahead is essential for extracting maximum speed on the long straights. Verstappen, having lost contact with the McLarens ahead, attempted to create a new lead car for a slipstream.
As he decelerated approaching the final corner, Antonelli overtook the Red Bull, while Russell stayed directly behind both cars. A slipstream can boost a lap, but staying too close to the lead car for the entire circuit can also hinder performance, a point Russell emphasized. He said, "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." Regarding whether Mercedes could have avoided the situation, Russell answered, "I think no, everything looked fine until we hit Parabolica. Max slammed on the brakes and didn’t want to be the lead car. You can’t control what other drivers do. Kimi gave me a perfect slipstream on the first run, but Max’s actions made it difficult for Kimi as well.
In hindsight it might have been better not to try that, 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 championship. He told Sky Sports F1, "I feel 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 realistic shot at victory. That’s the goal." Verstappen did not comment directly on the incident, but he explained that his own performance had been hampered by a mechanical issue that made the car bounce like a kangaroo over bumps and kerbs.
"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 happens more often this year, but it costs lap time in low‑speed sections where the car starts jumping around more than it should. Without ride‑control the car is not compliant and consistency suffers." The Dutch driver qualified sixth but will start fifth after Oscar Piastri received a grid penalty for impeding.
Verstappen added, "We need to be able to change whatever the part is, otherwise it will be quite tough to race like that." Looking ahead to race day, the schedule includes an F3 feature race at 7:10 am, an F2 feature race at 8:40 am, a Porsche Supercup race at 10:40 am, and the Grand Prix itself at 12:30 pm, with the Italian GP starting at 2:00 pm on Sky Sports F1. The event will be streamed on NOW, with the option to cancel at any time. The weekend promises plenty of on‑track action, and both Mercedes and Red Bull will be looking to fine‑tune their cars after the qualifying drama, hoping to turn the lessons learned at Monza into a strong race performance.