George Russell has admitted surprise over Mercedes' decision to pit Kimi Antonelli during the virtual safety car period at Monza, a move that ultimately handed the Italian his first Formula 1 victory.
Russell held the lead early on as he aimed to close the championship gap to his team-mate, Kimi Antonelli, who started from 19th place. But Antonelli made rapid progress, capitalizing on the red flag caused by Charles Leclerc's heavy crash to close in on the front.
The turning point came when the virtual safety car was deployed. Mercedes opted to bring Antonelli in for fresh tyres, while Russell remained on the hard compound he had fitted during the red flag. The strategy split left Russell exposed, and he was powerless to fend off his team-mate in the final stint.
"To be honest, I thought we were both going to stay out. I was surprised to see him pitting," Russell said. "In the end, it was a roll of the dice both ways. In the moment, the team wouldn't have known which strategy was better. It made sense to split the cars, but in the end, Kimi had great pace and there we are."
Despite missing out on the win, Russell found a silver lining. "I'll take it," he said. "It's been more positive than it was pre-summer break, and that's what I needed to try to achieve, but of course I would have loved to have been P1 today."
The result extends Antonelli's championship lead, while Russell now faces an uphill battle in the title race. Mercedes' bold call at Monza will be debated for weeks, but for now, it has cemented Antonelli's status as a title contender.
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