Formula 1 Italian GP
Russell: Antonelli's FP1 crash "put me on the back foot" for Monza qualifying
Mercedes lacking spare parts of latest Formula 1 upgrades after Antonelli's Monza FP1 accident on Friday
Jake Boxall-Legge Alex Kalinauckas
Edited: Aug 31, 2024, 8:44 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
George Russell was pleased to qualify third for the Italian Grand Prix given his lack of track time over the weekend, in the wake of new Mercedes recruit Andrea Kimi Antonelli's FP1 shunt at Parabolica.
The Briton gave up his seat for Antonelli, as per Formula 1's rookie driver FP1 rules, and the Italian rookie impressed across his lap and a half before bringing his session to an abrupt end with a large crash at the final corner.
Read Also:
This ensured that Mercedes' mechanics had to make multiple repairs, which spilled over into FP2, sapping Russell's track time in the car on Friday.
With just FP3 to go on, Russell felt that he was compromised by the aftermath of Antonelli's accident and did not feel comfortable making too many changes to optimise his set-up for qualifying and the race - ultimately feeling he only "scraped" into Q3.
"It was a very up-and-down weekend. Obviously I missed a lot yesterday, which put me really on the back foot," Russell said.
"We hadn't made a lot of changes from FP3 into qualifying because that was really my first proper session out on track. Q1 and Q2 were really, really messy; I wasn't confident, didn't feel good in the car.
"I just sort of scraped through the session and then suddenly managed to get in the sweet spot for Q3, both my laps had us third or fourth and we obviously ended up third. So I'm pretty pleased with that result and excited to see how close it is with everyone."
George Russell, Mercedes F1 W15
Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images
Looking towards Sunday's race, Russell felt that he was going to have to improvise given his lack of long-run data, with little idea of what to expect in the 53-lap grand prix.
He added that the crash had run some of the spare part stocks dry, warning that Mercedes might have to revert to older specifications if he or Lewis Hamilton found themselves in strife during the Italian GP.
"I don't really know what to expect because I've just not really done the laps, to be honest," he added. "So I just have to trust my instincts and go from there really and adapt on the fly. I'm really pleased to be lining up P3 after the day we've had, and the car definitely seems to have potential.
"We've lost quite a few parts, so fingers crossed Lewis and I don't do any further damage. Otherwise, we'll have to revert to some of the old parts unless we can get some new pieces made in the interim.
"It is not the end of the world as long as we both don't do any further damage. As it stands, we don't have any spares of our upgraded stuff."
Read Also:
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Red Bull can't explain Monza qualifying debacle: "Something isn't working"
Next article Hamilton "furious" for wasting shot at Monza F1 pole
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Jake Boxall-Legge
Isack Hadjar to make Red Bull return at F1 Azerbaijan GP
Formula 1
Formula 1
Azerbaijan GP
Isack Hadjar to make Red Bull return at F1 Azerbaijan GP
More from
George Russell
Franco Colapinto, George Russell to sit out FP1 at F1 Mexico GP
Formula 1
Formula 1
United States GP
Franco Colapinto, George Russell to sit out FP1 at F1 Mexico GP
Toto Wolff dismisses Helmut Marko's Russell theory: "He still has what it takes"
Formula 1
Formula 1
United States GP
Toto Wolff dismisses Helmut Marko's Russell theory: "He still has what it takes"
More from
Mercedes
Why Monza win from 19th still isn't the best of Kimi Antonelli's dominant F1 2026 season
Formula 1
Formula 1
United States GP
Why Monza win from 19th still isn't the best of Kimi Antonelli's dominant F1 2026 season
George Russell confused by lack of pace at F1 US GP despite upgraded W17
Formula 1
Formula 1
United States GP
George Russell confused by lack of pace at F1 US GP despite upgraded W17
Latest news
Christian Horner admits he doesn't need F1 return after £67 million Red Bull payout
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
United States GP
7 min
Christian Horner admits he doesn't need F1 return after £67 million Red Bull payout
Jorge Martin braced for “really difficult, painful” MotoGP weekend with broken arm
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Australian GP
11 min
Jorge Martin braced for “really difficult, painful” MotoGP weekend with broken arm
Alex Marquez moves to end MotoGP Qatar GP speculation: 'The race is confirmed'
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Australian GP
56 min
Alex Marquez moves to end MotoGP Qatar GP speculation: 'The race is confirmed'
Jorge Martin declared fit to start Malaysian GP weekend
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Australian GP
58 min
Jorge Martin declared fit to start Malaysian GP weekend
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe