George Russell has admitted he “can’t comprehend” the sometimes unpredictable nature of Formula 1 after Max Verstappen dominated the Italian Grand Prix.
Verstappen cruised to a commanding win at Monza, his first since Imola in May and, at one hour, 13 minutes and 24 seconds, the fastest Grand Prix in history.
The record speed of the race supplemented Verstappen’s record qualifying lap the day previously, which, measured on average speed, was the fastest F1 lap of all time.
It was something of a huge turnaround for Verstappen and his Red Bull squad, which, just two races ago, laboured to a seventh-place finish in Hungary.
The Dutchman was the last driver classified not to have been lapped, finishing well over a minute behind Lando Norris.
Russell was somewhat bewildered by the turnaround performed by Verstappen and the Milton Keynes-based squad.
“It’s a fair assessment. It’s a bit of a funny sport,” he told Sky Sports F1 after the race.
“I am struggling to comprehend how Verstappen can be 40 seconds off the win in Bahrain, and then win by 20 seconds here and at Imola. It’s pretty impressive.
“I don’t know what’s going to come in the coming races. I hope that we can fight for podiums more regularly.
“The Ferrari has taken a bit of a step since the start of the season. It’s not straightforward.”
Russell acknowledges Mercedes did maximum at Monza
Russell finished the race fifth, his race having been compromised from failing to live up to the promise shown in qualifying, having topped Q1.
A miscommunication as to which tyres his Mercedes would be run on in Q3 appeared to stunt Russell’s progress, having been placed on Softs when he preferred Mediums.
Starting fifth, it was a somewhat nondescript race, as he failed to challenge Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and did not receive any serious challenge from those behind him.
“I was confident I would have qualified ahead of the Ferraris,” Russell added.
“Probably could have been one position higher. Realistically, Ferrari had a suboptimal strategy to beat McLaren. They probably would have done something different to get ahead of me.
“P5 is just where we are right now.”
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