Russell “not even thinking” of F1 championship comeback after missing out on victory in Monza

George Russell sits 66 points behind Kimi Antonelli. Photo credits: Luca Martini / WHYOUT

Starting in second, George Russell was a strong contender for the victory in Italy and that thought was reaffirmed early on when he took the lead on lap five from pole sitter Pierre Gasly.

Kimi Antonelli on the other hand was on the back foot as he started down in 19th after he was penalised for exceeding the allocated power unit components for the season.

But, the young Italian rapidly made up positions in a stellar stint and caught up with his teammate in the front, the pair jostled for position as they battled for the lead .

Russell’s early advantage began falling apart as during the Virtual Safety Car period for Lance Stroll’s halted car, Antonelli pitted for fresher tyres while the Briton remained out on track.

The young Italian fought through the pecking order once again and in the closing laps Russell could see the steaming Mercedes in his mirrors with the Briton as his next target.

While Russell could fight the first time, with only three laps left aged tyres put him at risk. Antonelli drove past the No.63 with ease while Russell began dropping settled for second.

“I want, first of all, to congratulate Kimi, because, just looking at the result, starting from where he started and finishing by winning was incredibly impressive.” Russell said following the race.

“But when I saw that he was already in P5 after just a few laps, I thought: ‘Okay, he’s in the fight.’”

“The VSC came at a tricky moment. I don’t think the team knew what the right strategy was, and since Max was in the mix, deciding to split strategies was probably the right call for the team.” Russell explained.

“Looking back in hindsight, of course it’s easy to say: ‘I should have pitted,’ or else, if I had won the race, I would have said Kimi should have stayed out. I would have loved to just have a straight fight with Kimi. It was shaping up to be a really cool battle, and I felt like I was holding my own pretty well at that point, but that was probably another reason the team wanted us on different strategies.”

“So, I get it. I’ll take the positives from the weekend. It was a more competitive weekend for me here and also last week in Zandvoort, compared to the period before the summer break. And, of course, it’s disappointing not to have won, but it’s where we are.”

Antonelli now has seven race victories this season which is in stark comparison to Russell’s two. The disappointing result meant Russell tails 66 points behind Antonelli in the championship standings, a significant gap as Formula 1 heads into its final ten scheduled rounds of the 2026 season.

When asked about fighting for the championship and coming back against his teammate Russell said: “To be honest, I’m not even thinking about that. We’re where we are.”

“He’s been driving incredibly this season, deserves to be leading the championship, and has a very comfortable lead.”

“I’m not even going to dwell on the fight or a championship comeback. I’m just thinking about going to each race and trying to win it, and it’ll be what it’ll be.”

“I’m not putting pressure on myself in that sense, saying I need to do this or I need to do that. I just need to try to win more races.”

“But, of course, he’s in the best position and deserves to be where he is.”

Formula One heads to Madrid for the debut race around the Madring on the 11-13 September.