George Russell may have finished second at the Italian Grand Prix, but Juan Pablo Montoya believes Mercedes should have double-stacked its drivers to give the Briton a better shot at victory. The Colombian argues that the team's decision during the Virtual Safety Car (VSC) period was a pivotal moment that cost Russell a golden opportunity.
The VSC came at a tense point in the race. At that moment, George Russell was leading, but Mercedes prioritized a pit stop for Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who had started from 19th. Montoya, speaking on the F1 TV post-race show, insisted that Russell should have been given priority.
“He was leading and he should have had the priority on the pitstop,” Montoya said. “When that Virtual Safety Car came at that point, it’s quicker to stop than staying out. They should have stopped him, they should have double-stacked him, and he should have stopped ahead of Antonelli. I’m not saying Antonelli wouldn’t still catch him and win the race, but it would have been a really close fight like we saw earlier on. It would have been a really cool race at the end for all of us.”
The differing strategies were the main talking point: Russell used a one-stop, while Antonelli opted for a two-stop. At the time, Mercedes was unsure which approach would work best. Given that Antonelli started from P19 and Russell from the front row, Antonelli's victory was hardly predictable.
Toto Wolff admitted that the two-stop strategy proved superior, but the team didn't anticipate that. “The two-stop was the best but we didn’t think it was the case, so that was good for him actually,” Wolff told Sky Sports F1. “But today there was nothing that would have stopped him. George fought with worn-out tyres at the end, so I’m really happy for the one-two.”
Mercedes had to manage several battles between its drivers. Eventually, they were told to keep it clean and avoid unnecessary risks. Antonelli surged ahead, fueled by racing on home soil. The 20-year-old stormed to a historic victory, becoming the first Italian to win his home race in 60 years.
“No, George was on the hard and we needed to go on the one-stop so there was no chance,” Wolff added when asked if Russell had other viable options. With this result, Russell had to settle for second, while Antonelli etched his name into F1 history.
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