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 had looked set to fulfil his reputation as the favourite for pole, but his last flying lap was disrupted when the Red Bull driver decelerated in front of him and his teammate Kimi Antonelli, compromising the crucial slipstream effect. Mercedes had strategically placed championship leader Antonelli ahead of Russell on the track to give the British driver a tow. Antonelli was serving a penalty for exceeding his allocated engine components for the season and was destined to start from the back of the grid regardless of his qualifying performance, so the team used his run to benefit Russell.
Despite improving his time and briefly topping the session, Russell’s pole was snatched away by Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, who produced one of the most surprising qualifying results in recent Formula 1 history. When Sky Sports F1 asked Wolff whether something had gone wrong for Russell, the team boss replied: “Yes, at the end he got done over by Max in the final run when launching the lap.
It was just much too close, and that compromised the lap time eventually and that lost pole position.” At Monza, a tow from a car ahead is vital for extracting maximum speed on the long straights. Verstappen, having lost contact with the McLarens ahead of him, attempted to force another vehicle into his slipstream. As he slowed approaching the final corner, Antonelli overtook the Red Bull, while Russell remained just behind both cars.
While a tow can boost a lap, being too close to the leading car for the entire circuit can also hinder performance, a situation Russell felt he experienced. Russell explained the incident: “We had a bit of a mess with Verstappen entering the lap. He wanted to go for the tow, Kimi was there as well, and I did my lap a second and a half behind Max, which wasn’t ideal.” When questioned whether Mercedes could have avoided the scenario, Russell answered, “I think no, everything was looking fine, but then going into Parabolica Max just slammed on the brakes and didn’t want to be the lead car.
You can’t control what other drivers do. Kimi gave me the slipstream perfectly on the first run, but Max’s actions also made it difficult for Kimi to know what to do. It was a little bit unfortunate.
In hindsight maybe we shouldn’t have tried this, but we wanted to give it everything.” Despite his disappointment, Russell remains in a strong position to close the 59‑point gap to Antonelli at the top of the championship. He told Sky Sports F1, “I’m feeling good. The key is a clean start and a clean first lap.
As long as I’m in the top three or four after the opening laps, I still have a great shot at victory. That’s the goal.” Verstappen did not comment directly on the final‑corner incident, but he did reveal that his own qualifying pace had been hampered by a mechanical issue that made the car bounce like a kangaroo. “As soon as I went out for qualifying, something failed again on the car,” he said. “It’s something we’re aware of and it happens more often this year, but it costs lap time in the low‑speed sections where the car starts jumping around a lot more than it should on the bumps and kerbs.
The car is no longer compliant.” He added that the car had shown improvement in the final practice session, stating, “I was actually very happy with the car in FP3 because we took a big step forward from yesterday. The car was in a much better window, and overall I think today it was in a much better window.” However, without ride‑control and with the car hopping like a kangaroo, consistency becomes impossible.
“It’s a shame we can’t optimise our performance under those conditions.” Verstappen qualified sixth but will start fifth after Oscar Piastri received a grid penalty for impeding. Regarding the race, he noted, “We need to be able to change whatever the part is, because otherwise it’s going to be quite tough to race like that.” The weekend schedule includes the F3 Feature Race at 7:10 am, the F2 Feature Race at 8:40 am, the Porsche Supercup at 10:40 am, and the Grand Prix itself at 2:00 pm, followed by post‑race analysis and the Chequered Flag ceremony. The Italian Grand Prix, Ferrari’s home event, will be broadcast live on Sky Sports F1, with streaming available via NOW without a contract and the option to cancel at any time.