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 the top spot, but his ultimate flying lap was disrupted when the Red Bull driver slowed down in front of both him and his teammate Kimi Antonelli, who was providing a slipstream. Mercedes had deliberately placed the championship‑leading Antonelli on the track ahead of Russell to give the British driver a tow. Antonelli was serving a penalty for exceeding his allocated engine components for the season, meaning he would start from the back of the grid regardless of his qualifying time, so the team could use his car as a moving aerodynamic aid without jeopardising his own race position.
Even after the interference, Russell managed to improve his time and set the fastest lap of the session, only to see his pole position snatched away by Alpine’s Pierre Gasly. Gasly’s performance was one of the most surprising qualifying results in recent Formula 1 history, turning the expected pole‑sitter into a runner‑up in a dramatic fashion.
When Sky Sports F1 asked Wolff whether anything had gone wrong for Russell, the Mercedes boss replied: "Yeah, I think at the end where 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 crucial for extracting maximum speed on the long straights. Verstappen, after losing contact with the McLarens ahead of him, attempted to position another car in front of his own to generate a slipstream.
As he decelerated approaching the final corner, Antonelli overtook the Red Bull, while Russell stayed directly behind both cars. The proximity to the leading car can be a double‑edged sword: while a slipstream can boost straight‑line speed, being too close for the entire lap can disrupt aerodynamic balance and reduce overall performance.
Russell felt this was exactly what happened. 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 asked if Mercedes could have avoided the situation, he answered, "I think, no, everything was all looking fine, but then going into Parabolica, Max just slammed on the brakes, and he didn't want to be the lead car. So it's just one of those things.
You can't control what other people do. Kimi was there to give me the slipstream, which he did perfectly on the first run, but obviously with Max, I think it also made it difficult for Kimi to know what to do as well. So it was just a little bit unfortunate.
In hindsight, probably would have been better off not trying this, 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' standings. He told Sky Sports F1, "I'm feeling good.
I think the key is just to have a clean start, a clean first lap. As long as I'm in the top three or four after the first few laps, you're still within a great shot to fight for victory. That's the goal." Verstappen did not comment directly on the Parabolica incident, but he did reveal that his own qualifying pace had been hampered by a mechanical issue that caused the car to behave like a kangaroo on the bumps.
"As soon as I went out for qualifying, something failed again on the car," he said. "It's something that we are aware of, and it happens more often in the year, but it's just costing lap time in the low‑speed sections where the car starts jumping around a lot more than it should.
On the kerbs, the car's not compliant anymore." He added that the car had shown improvement in the final practice session, describing it as being in a "much better window". However, without ride‑control and with the car bouncing erratically, consistency became impossible: "When you have no ride control and the car is just jumping around like a kangaroo, you can't be consistent. It's actually a bit of a shame to not optimise our performance." The Dutch driver qualified sixth but will start fifth after Oscar Piastri received a grid penalty for impeding another car. Verstappen noted that the team must address the problematic part quickly, warning that continuing to race with the issue would be "quite tough".
The weekend schedule includes an F3 feature race at 7:10 am, an F2 feature race at 8:40 am, the Porsche Supercup at 10:40 am, and the main Grand Prix starting at 2:00 pm, followed by post‑race analysis and commentary throughout the afternoon. Formula 1 fans can watch the Italian Grand Prix live on Sky Sports F1, with streaming available via NOW without a long‑term contract.
The race marks Ferrari’s home event, and the atmosphere at Monza is expected to be electric as teams battle for crucial points in the championship chase.