Toto Wolff believes Max Verstappen played a decisive role in denying George Russell pole position for the 2026 Italian Grand Prix, after the Mercedes driver was beaten by Pierre Gasly by just 0.060 seconds at Monza. Mercedes had attempted to use Kimi Antonelli to give Russell a slipstream on the main straight, but Wolff says Verstappen’s positioning ahead of them compromised the Briton’s final attack.
Gasly produced a sensational lap to claim the first Formula 1 pole position of his career, edging George Russell by only six hundredths of a second. With such a small margin separating the pair, the way the cars were positioned before the final flying laps became particularly important.
Toto Wolff says Max Verstappen ruined Russell’s Monza lap
Mercedes had planned to make use of Antonelli’s situation in qualifying. The Italian, who will start the race from the back because of a power unit penalty, provided Russell with a tow along the start-finish straight in an attempt to maximise his team-mate’s chances of pole.
According to Wolff, however, Max Verstappen slowed dramatically before beginning his own flying lap. That left Antonelli extremely close behind the Red Bull and, as a consequence, Russell also started his lap too near Verstappen.
“Verstappen ruined Russell’s lap. He slowed down massively before launching his lap and Antonelli was basically right on his gearbox, so as a consequence Russell was also too close to Verstappen,” Wolff told Sky Sports UK.
“He was clever and we underestimated him. We should have left more space between ourselves and Max.”
The incident proved particularly costly given how little separated Russell and Gasly at the end of Q3. Gasly’s 1:21.786 was enough to beat Russell by 0.060 seconds and secure a remarkable pole position for Alpine.
Mercedes had planned Antonelli tow for Russell
The slipstream strategy had been discussed before qualifying because Antonelli’s grid penalty meant his own starting position was already compromised. Mercedes therefore had an opportunity to use the championship leader to help Russell, who is trying to reduce the gap to his team-mate in the 2026 Formula 1 drivers’ standings.
The plan almost worked. Russell had enough pace to fight for pole and will still start from the front row, but Wolff believes the spacing behind Verstappen prevented Mercedes from extracting the full benefit of the tow on the decisive run.
Russell himself also acknowledged after qualifying that he had ended up too close to Verstappen approaching Parabolica, where the Red Bull driver slowed before beginning his lap.
Wolff not surprised by Alpine’s Monza speed
Despite the frustration over missing pole, Wolff said he was pleased to see Alpine produce such a strong result and insisted the French team’s performance was not entirely unexpected.
“I’m really happy that Alpine took pole. They’ve been through some really difficult times,” Wolff said.
“We gave them our small contribution and over a single lap they are always dangerous because they have great aerodynamic efficiency, which gives them incredible top speed.”
That strength was particularly valuable at Monza, where reducing drag and maximising straight-line speed are crucial. Gasly combined Alpine’s efficiency with a well-executed slipstream to produce the surprise result of qualifying and deny Mercedes what had appeared to be an excellent opportunity for pole.
Russell nevertheless remains well positioned for Sunday’s race. With Kimi Antonelli starting from the rear, the Italian Grand Prix gives the British driver an important opportunity to reduce his championship deficit — but after losing pole by only 0.060 seconds, Mercedes knows just how costly the smallest details can be at Monza.
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