Russell on his Monza prospects after loss to ‘flying’ Gasly

George Russell will start second for the Italian Grand Prix after being edged out by Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, who secured a surprise pole position by 0.060s. Despite setting a faster time on his final attempt, Russell could not match the Frenchman’s late surge in Q3. Reflecting on the session, Russell praised Gasly's performance and admitted that the Alpine team's speed caught Mercedes off guard. While he noted some frustrations with his own lap—including traffic from Max Verstappen—he remains optimistic about his race prospects at Monza, citing the track's abundant overtaking opportunities. With his Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli starting from the back of the grid, Russell is focused on closing the 59-point gap in the Drivers' Championship. He emphasized that pole position is not strictly necessary for victory at this circuit and plans to analyze FP2 data to better understand the unexpected pace shown by Alpine.