George Russell had to settle for second place in Monza, after he seemed to have the best chances for victory for a long time. The Mercedes driver saw his teammate Kimi Antonelli, who started from P19, pass him in the final phase and therefore had to settle for P2. “It is what it is.”
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Russell had the race under control for a long time, but struggled more and more with his tires in the final phase. The Brit drove almost the entire race on the same set of hard tires, which allowed Antonelli to make the difference in the final phase. “First of all, congratulations to my teammate. He was quickly at the front of the field and I knew he would have a chance. But we had a strong race, but I had some trouble with my tires at the end of the stint. Of course, we drove almost the entire race on that one set of hard tires.”
During the virtual safety car, the opportunity arose to make an extra pit stop. However, Russell stayed out, while Antonelli and also Max Verstappen went to the pits for fresh rubber. In hindsight, that proved to be a crucial moment in the fight for victory.
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“I thought we would stay out, so I was surprised that Kimi dived into the pits. It was a game of musical chairs which strategy would be the winning one. So it makes sense that they put us on a different strategy. But in the end, Kimi had very good speed, so that’s why.”
Although the victory slipped past him, Russell sees second place as an important boost. “It is what it is, but it is already more positive than before the summer break. That was of course what I wanted to achieve,” said the Mercedes driver.
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Read everything about the Italian GP here
