George Russell has bemoaned a tyre “miscommunication” with the Mercedes pit wall that saw him miss out on pole position for the Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix.
The Briton will line up in fifth place for Sunday’s race at Monza, after completing Q3 on Soft tyres, having topped Q1 on the Medium compound.
When Russell began his out lap for his final run, he was informed by the team that he was on Softs and questioned why, telling them he had requested Mediums.
Ultimately, Russell ended up three-tenths adrift of Max Verstappen’s pole position lap to start behind the Red Bull, both McLarens and Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari.
Speaking after qualifying, Russell explained why he wanted to go on Mediums, the tyre on which he took pole at the Canadian Grand Prix earlier in the season.
“Yeah, I mean I was quickest in Q1 with the Medium,” he told media including Motorsport Week. “We were one of the only teams with two Mediums.
“So it was just a miscommunication to be honest with me and the team. So they’re not really to blame.
“It’s probably I’m as much to blame that I didn’t make it clear. I just thought with the lap time I showed, I just presumed.”
Russell explains Mercedes misunderstanding
When asked if he had made a direct request to go for Mediums, Russell said there was a misunderstanding with what he called “the plan” between himself and his team.
“I said after Q1 the Medium feels great and we should consider it for Q3. And then I said in the middle of Q2, after my first lap I’d like to run the Medium in Q3.
“And then I said in the garage, ‘are we sticking to plan?’ And they said yes. And I thought the plan was Medium, but the plan was Soft. So that’s why it was a surprise.
“As I said, I’m as much to blame. We should have discussed it probably more.”
Russell was not entirely clear whether he felt that the difference in compounds cost him pole, admitting to underwhelming laps in Q3, but intimated his belief that his grid position would have been a lot higher.
“I don’t know to be honest,” he said. “The gap was obviously pretty large in the end. But I just felt much more comfortable with the Medium tyre.
“I didn’t really do good laps in Q3. I only improved 1.5 tenths from Q1 on the Medium to my fastest lap in Q3.
“So you normally talk normal improvement of probably 5 or 6 tenths.
“And bearing in mind by lap in Q1 I’ve done two laps on the tyre. So you just look at those numbers, you would think substantially faster than what I did achieve.
“But anyway, P5 is probably a deserving position.”
READ MORE – How Max Verstappen banished Red Bull’s 2024 Monza ‘disaster’ with F1 Italian GP pole
Discussion about this post