Kimi Antonelli overtook team-mate George Russell with three laps remaining to win the Italian Grand Prix at Monza. Russell led by one second when a Virtual Safety Car was called with 25 laps to go, and Mercedes pitted Antonelli for fresh medium tyres while keeping Russell on hard tyres, separating the pair by 15 seconds when racing resumed.
Russell said the strategy was justified given the circumstances. "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," Russell told Sky Sports F1. He noted that had Mercedes pitted both drivers, Antonelli would have lost track position to Max Verstappen in the pit lane.
Antonelli climbed from sixth place through the field to catch and pass Russell. Russell said he would have preferred to race his team-mate but acknowledged the strategic rationale. "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," Russell said.
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff said the team's computer systems indicated at the time of the VSC that Russell's strategy would be faster, with Antonelli expected to "come close but wouldn't catch". Wolff attributed Antonelli's victory to his ability to navigate through traffic. The result leaves Russell 66 points behind Antonelli in the championship with 10 rounds remaining.
