Russell ‘done over’ by Verstappen as Wolff points finger at Italian GP

George Russell said his Monza tow tactic with Kimi Antonelli became a bit of a “mess” as Max Verstappen entered the fray.

Russell accused Verstappen of slamming on the brakes as he tried to avoid being at the head of the pack in Q3. Spending his final flying lap closer to Verstappen than optimal, Russell was forced to settle for a place on the front row, as Alpine’s Pierre Gasly claimed a shock pole position at Monza. Mercedes boss Toto Wolff was firm in his verdict that Russell was “done over” by Verstappen.

George Russell and Toto Wolff claim Max Verstappen tactics at Monza

With its series of straights, getting a tow at Monza can be vital in qualifying. Considering that Antonelli was already dropping to the back of the grid through engine penalties, he was providing the tow for Mercedes teammate Russell.

Russell fell just 0.06s short of pole position at Monza, and afterwards pointed the finger at Verstappen.

“It was a very scrappy session,” Russell told PlanetF1.com and other media outlets in the post-qualifying press conference.

“I didn’t feel quite as good with the car as I did in FP3. I was struggling with locking up.

“Then come Q3, we had a bit of a mess with Verstappen entering the lap. He wanted to go for the tow. Kimi was there as well. I did my lap a second-and-a-half behind Max, which wasn’t ideal.

“It takes nothing away from what Pierre achieved because they were flying all day, quickest in Q1, and right up there from the beginning. I’m happy for Pierre.

“Of course disappointed we weren’t on pole ourselves. However, great place to start for tomorrow.”

Russell suggested that perhaps Mercedes would have been “better off not trying” its tactic in hindsight, but returned to highlighting Verstappen’s actions at the end of Q3.

Verstappen was ahead of Antonelli and Russell through Parabolica. Russell accused Verstappen of purposely slowing as to not lead that train down the main straight.

“Everything was all looking fine, but then going into Parabolica, Max just slammed on the brakes,” claimed Russell. “He didn’t want to be the lead car.

“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, we probably would have been better off not trying this, but we wanted to give it everything, and nevertheless, P2 is a good place. We’re ahead of our rivals, and still with a great shot to fight for the win.”

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Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff also pointed towards Verstappen over Russell’s P2 on the Monza grid.

Wolff was more forthright than Russell in claiming Verstappen caused pole to pass Russell by.

Wolff had been asked by Sky F1 whether something went wrong for Russell at the end of Q3.

“Yeah, I think at the end where he got done over by Max in the final run when launching the lap,” Wolff responded.

“It was just much too close, and that compromised the lap time eventually and that lost pole position.”

Verstappen will start the Italian Grand Prix from fifth. He was promoted one grid slot after Oscar Piastri picked up a three-place penalty for impeding Verstappen’s stand-in Red Bull teammate, Liam lawson.

Additional reporting by Thomas Maher

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