George Russell admitted he was left bewildered by Max Verstappen’s emphatic victory at Monza, describing Formula 1 as “a funny sport” after Red Bull bounced back in stunning fashion from recent struggles.
The reigning world champion produced a commanding display in Sunday’s Italian Grand Prix, storming to victory by over 19 seconds ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris.
Just weeks earlier in Hungary, Verstappen had languished down in ninth – far off the pace of the leading teams. Russell confessed he was struggling to reconcile the sudden swing in form.
“It’s a fair assessment. It’s a bit of a funny sport,” he said. “I am struggling to comprehend how Verstappen can be 40 seconds off the win and Bahrain, and then win by 20 seconds here and at Imola. It’s pretty impressive.
“I don’t know what’s going to come in the coming races. I hope that we can fight for podiums more regularly. The Ferrari has taken a bit of a step since the start of the season. It’s not straightforward.”
Missed opportunity in qualifying
Mercedes’ weekend began with flashes of promise. Russell topped Q1 on the medium tyre, but the team’s choice to switch him to the softs in Q3 left the Briton convinced he had been denied a chance to out-qualify Ferrari.
“I was confident I would have qualified ahead of the Ferraris,” Russell explained. “Probably could have been one position higher. But they probably would have done something different to get ahead of me. P5 is just where we are right now.”
Come Sunday, Russell found himself stuck behind Charles Leclerc for much of the race, a battle that eventually cost him as tyre degradation set in. Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff believed his driver’s eagerness had backfired.
“I think he pushed a bit too hard trying to stay close to Leclerc,” Wolff said. “When the cars are so close together, overtaking is already very difficult. And because he was pushing so much, he destroyed his tyres.”
More Learnings for Antonelli
Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli, endured a challenging race, finishing ninth after a five-second penalty dropped him a position late in the event. His race was impacted from the outset by a poor launch off the grid.
“I just went a bit deep with the clutch and got wheel spin straightaway,” Antonelli explained. “I just lost many places. That compromised the race as I found myself having to chase.”
Despite the struggles, Antonelli saw positives in his qualifying performance, a noted weakness in recent races.
“Well definitely qualifying was a step forward,” he said. “It’s been a bit of a weak point in the past few races but I didn’t do a proper long run. That didn’t help.
“Definitely, learning and just need to have a proper clean weekend in order to be able to build for qualifying and the race.”
Wolff blunt on Verstappen’s dominance
Reflecting on the wider picture, Wolff admitted that Verstappen’s imperious pace had humbled the field and left Mercedes well short of expectations.
“Today, one driver made everyone else look silly,” Wolff said in reference to Verstappen’s dominant drive.
“They really need to ask themselves what he’s doing differently. Overall, we weren’t competitive over the weekend. A fifth and an eighth place are absolutely not satisfactory.
“I don’t think, with our current set-up, we have a car that we can consistently drive onto the podium. But Kimi made too many mistakes.
"He simply needs to put together a solid weekend. Then he’ll be racing on equal terms with Leclerc and George. And with George, things also weren’t completely smooth today.”
For Russell, the hope now is that Ferrari’s step forward won’t leave Mercedes cut adrift in the fight for podiums.
But for Wolff and his team, Verstappen’s Monza performance served as a stark reminder of just how far the Silver Arrows remain from the benchmark.
Read also: Russell says miscommunication led to tyre mix-up in Monza Q3
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