George Russell endured another tough outing at the Italian Grand Prix, finishing fifth after struggling to match Ferrari’s pace at Monza.
Mercedes briefly looked competitive when Russell topped Q1 on medium tyres, but a switch to softs in Q3 left him starting P5. Despite early pressure on Charles Leclerc, Russell was unable to overtake as Ferrari’s straight-line speed kept him at bay.
“We were expecting to be two-tenths behind Ferrari and a bit more behind everyone else,” Russell said. “I was reasonably pleased – I don’t think we could have done anything more. It was just very difficult to get past Charles. Fifth was where the car deserved to finish.”
The result saw Mercedes fall 20 points behind Ferrari in the Constructors’ standings, with Kimi Antonelli adding just two points after a difficult home race.
The 19-year-old Italian, who impressed with sixth on the grid after recovering from a spin in FP2, slipped back with a poor start and later received a five-second penalty for exceeding track limits.
“It was a difficult race,” Antonelli admitted. “I made a mistake at the start, lost a lot of places, and from there it was tough being stuck in a DRS train. The pace on mediums was okay, but on the hards I struggled. I just need to focus on the next one.”
