George Russell believes he can for once vie against Charles Leclerc on Sunday but keeping Max Verstappen away would be tough.
Multiple grid penalties to several drivers have blessed George Russell with a front-row start for Sunday. However, Mercedes isn’t showing enough pace for Sunday and could lose out on the podium if Carlos Sainz, Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez catch up.
Russell himself has admitted that Mercedes isn’t in ideal condition for a successful Italian Grand Prix. While he said he could think of fighting Charles Leclerc on Sunday, it would be impossible for him to hold Verstappen.
The Dutchman will probably start from P4, as the official qualifying classification are yet to come. Verstappen has already shown regularly this season that he can outpace anyone on the grid, last week, he won after starting P14. So what’s a P4?
#ItalianGP 🇮🇹: George Russell confirmed he came out on used tyres in Q3, risk to save a new set for the race tomorrow: “glad that Lando or Fernando didn’t jump us because that was the fight for P2 tomorrow. I’m not too disappointed.”
— deni (@fiagirly) September 10, 2022
“I think we could fight with Charles [Leclerc],” said Russell. “But fighting with Max [Verstappen] is no chance they are quicker than us. We will try to stay ahead of Checo [Sergio Perez] and Carlos [Sainz], trying to come through the field and try and put on a fight.”
Also read: Lewis Hamilton complains he is losing 0.2 seconds at final sector in Monza
Max Verstappen will lead the race after 15 laps
Russell further predicts that Leclerc, who’s considered the chief rival of Verstappen this season, can’t last against him for more than 15 laps in Monza. Thus predicting the fifth win in a row for the Red Bull star.
“He [Verstappen] will probably be in the lead after 15 laps. Its not as easy to overtake here as in Spa but with the pace they’ve got they will slice through the field,” Russell added.
On the other hand, Leclerc feels good about the car. He claimed that Ferrari worked hard after Spa on the car, and he could feel good pace in F1-75. So, an exciting encounter between the two drivers can be expected.
Also read: 16 pole winner Charles Leclerc equals Michael Schumacher’s record after claiming P1 at Italian GP
