George Russell feels Mercedes were correct to split strategies despite losing out to Kimi Antonelli in a thrilling Italian Grand Prix.
Russell led Antonelli, who stormed through the field from 19th to be in the lead battle after just 13 laps, by one second when a race-changing Virtual Safety Car was called with 25 laps remaining.
Mercedes pitted Antonelli, but not Russell, for new medium tyres, which put the team-mates 15 seconds apart when the VSC ended.
From sixth, Antonelli overtook his rivals one by one then caught and overtook Russell with three laps to go to win his home event.
It leaves Russell 66 points behind Antonelli in the Drivers’ Championship with 10 rounds to go.
“I was on the hard tyre and Kimi was on the medium tyre [when the VSC came], so if either of us were to pit, it was going to be Kimi,” said Russell.
“I guess, why I was just a little bit annoyed with the timing of that VSC because, like Max said, I think it would have been tough for those guys on the medium to have competed with anybody on the hard tyre. But, it takes nothing away from Kimi’s drive altogether.”
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The crowd erupted with boos aimed at George Russell as he stepped on Monza podium
Had Mercedes pitted both drivers, Antonelli would have been stuck behind for a few seconds in the pit lane, therefore losing track position to Max Verstappen, who also pitted under the VSC.
Russell told Sky Sports F1: “The VSC came at an awkward time. I don’t think the team knew what the right strategy was and, as Max was in the fight, decided to split the strategy which was probably the right thing for the team to do.
“In hindsight of course, it’s easy to say I should have pitted or, if I won the race, they would have said Kimi should have stayed out.
“I would have liked to have had a fight with Kimi. It was quite a nice battle and I felt I was holding my own at that point. That was probably another reason the team wanted us to go on a different strategy. I get it.”
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Kimi Antonelli and George Russell go wheel-to-wheel for the Italian Grand Prix several times
Schiff: I don’t know why Russell is not more frustrated
Sky Sports F1’s Naomi Schiff
I don’t know why he’s not a little bit more frustrated, if I’m totally honest.
“I guess if you’ve given it all and you think that have actually executed the best strategy, and your team-mate has beaten you outright from P19 on the grid, then maybe there is nothing to be frustrated about, other than the fact that Kimi is going to be incredibly tough to beat this season.”
Wolff explains Mercedes’ thinking at time of VSC
Toto Wolff revealed Mercedes’ computer systems told them, at the time of the VSC, that Russell’s strategy would be faster than Antonelli’s with the Italian expected to “come close but wouldn’t catch”.
Mercedes believed the hard tyre was a “forever tyre” that would effectively last the whole race, but not with the performance of the medium.
“The differentiator today was the ability going through the traffic [from Antonelli]. We’ve seen it with other great ones in the past. Lewis [Hamilton] put it in some of the races and that’s what he’s shown today,” said Wolff.
“There’s just no stopping when a driver and a car are one, then there’s nothing that can stop them.”
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George Russell explains why the team chose not to pit him during the VSC, which potentially could have cost him the win in Monza
Coming into the weekend, Antonelli was expected to lose points to his closest title rivals – Russell, Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris.
Instead, he’s extended his advantage and Russell is set to start at the back himself in one of the upcoming races as he does not have enough engines to finish the season without a grid penalty.
However, Russell says he’s “not thinking about” the title race and instead is looking at the positives of being competitive in Monza and Zandvoort compared to the events before the summer break.
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Kimi Antonelli reflects on his sensational 19th to first Monza victory, catching teammate George Russell to claim a landmark home win and strengthen his championship lead
“We are where we are. Kimi’s been driving incredibly this season and deserves to be leading the championship and he’s got a healthy lead,” he said.
“I’m not going to think about the fight or the comeback. I’m just thinking about going to every race and trying to win it. It will be what it will be. I’m not putting any pressure on myself in this regard, saying ‘I need to do this or that’. I just need to win more races and, of course, he’s in this spot.”
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