George Russell Sets the Pace for Italian Grand Prix Pole at Monza
George Russell threw down a serious marker at Monza, staking his claim as the man to beat for Italian Grand Prix pole by outpacing Lewis Hamilton in a tense final practice session.
The Mercedes driver hooked up a 1:22.219 lap around the Temple of Speed, finishing just over two tenths clear of Hamilton as the silver cars and Ferrari again set the pace. On Friday, the two giants had traded blows. On Saturday morning, Russell landed one that really counted for qualifying momentum.
Russell carries Mercedes hopes as Antonelli starts from the back
For Mercedes, the picture is clear. Russell is their spearhead for qualifying. Kimi Antonelli, the championship leader, will start from the back after taking fresh engine components and banking a stack of grid penalties. Whatever he does in qualifying, his Sunday fight will begin from the tail.
That didn’t stop Antonelli from showing his class. While working mainly on long-run pace for the race, he still wound up fourth, just behind Max Verstappen’s Red Bull. He heads the standings by 59 points over both Russell and Hamilton, and he drove like a man in control of the bigger picture.
Behind them, Lando Norris kept himself firmly in the title conversation. The McLaren driver, fresh from back-to-back wins that have sliced Antonelli’s advantage to 83 points, took fifth. Charles Leclerc, in front of Ferrari’s home crowd and with scarlet flags all around the old royal park, slotted into sixth.
Tow tactics and Ferrari’s engine gamble
Mercedes did experiment with a classic Monza trick: using Antonelli as a tow for Russell down the straights. On this track, a well-timed slipstream can be worth a small fortune in lap time.
It didn’t define the session. Russell’s quickest laps came without any help, a statement of raw pace rather than clever choreography.
Ferrari, meanwhile, arrived with their second engine upgrade of the season, determined to claw back their straight-line deficit to Mercedes. The early signs suggest they’ve made progress. The red cars no longer look vulnerable on the long drag from Parabolica to Turn 1, yet the stopwatch still leans slightly towards Mercedes.
For a team chasing an explosively popular home pole, they need more. Monza demands perfection over one lap, and right now Russell looks closer to that edge than anyone in red.
Flashpoint at Turn 1: Hamilton and Verstappen run it close
The closing minutes delivered the familiar crackle of tension that Monza seems to specialise in.
As the field wound up for final flying laps, Hamilton and Verstappen found each other at exactly the wrong moment. Hamilton slipped ahead of the Red Bull approaching the final corner, a move that clearly infuriated the Dutchman. Over the line they went, Verstappen trying to drag race the Ferrari – and then lunging down the inside into Turn 1.
Hamilton bailed out. No contact, no carbon fibre shower, no repeat of their infamous 2021 clash at the same circuit when both were locked in a title fight and ended up parked in the gravel. The stewards noted the incident, took a look, and decided no investigation was needed.
The message, though, was unmistakable: the front-runners are already on edge.
A lifeline for Russell’s season?
Russell’s season has not followed the script many expected. He started the year as a favourite, only to be overshadowed by a younger, less experienced team-mate who has turned consistency into a title lead.
Monza feels different. The car is underneath him, the lap is flowing, and pole position is now more than a possibility – it’s an opportunity to drag himself back into the championship argument.
“George will be very pleased with himself. This is such a psychological sport and with a team-mate leading the championship he does need to switch that momentum,” said Sky Sports F1’s Naomi Schiff, capturing the significance of the session for Russell’s mindset. She also pointed to a key strength: Mercedes “aren't losing much anywhere on deployment through the lap.”
In a season where Antonelli has dictated the pace of the title race, Russell suddenly has a clear runway: a likely front-row start, a team-mate marooned at the back, and a car that looks sharp in all the right places.
At Monza, one lap can change everything. Is this the moment his season finally turns?
