George Russell will start the 2026 Italian Grand Prix from second on the grid after falling just 0.060 seconds short of pole position at Monza. The surprise of qualifying was Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, who took top spot. Team-mate Kimi Antonelli qualified seventh but drops to the back of the field because of a power-unit penalty.
Mercedes arrived at Monza with the pace to fight for pole position, and for most of Saturday afternoon it looked like the team would get it. In the end, George Russell was 0.060 seconds away from the front row’s inside slot, beaten by Alpine’s Pierre Gasly in one of the more unexpected qualifying results of the season.
A strong Saturday morning
The team carried its Friday form into final practice, where Russell set the benchmark time on the soft tyre. Qualifying proved harder work: drivers from Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull were all in contention, and Alpine joined the fight at the front.
Both Mercedes cars reached Q3. Russell led provisionally after the first runs, but on his second attempt he did not find clear track and spent the lap only a short distance behind Max Verstappen’s Red Bull. He still improved to 1:21.846 — the second-fastest time of the session.
Antonelli in a support role
Antonelli ran only one flying lap in Q3, having been assigned to give his team-mate a tow along Monza’s long straights. That lap was good enough for seventh on the timesheets, but a penalty for a power-unit change means he will line up at the back of the grid for Sunday’s race.
Pole position was within reach today. The last attempt didn’t go entirely smoothly for us, and we may not have made it as easy for ourselves as we could have. Kimi supported me superbly throughout and gave me a useful tow at the decisive moment. — George Russell
Russell added his congratulations to Gasly, saying the Alpine’s pace had not been expected and that the Frenchman fully deserved the result.
What the team said
Team principal Toto Wolff described the session as less than smooth, saying Mercedes had tried to make the most of the tow Antonelli could offer Russell but was held up by cars ahead — part of the games played at a circuit like Monza, in his words. His main takeaway was more positive.
The most important realisation for us is that we have a really quick car. The pace was there all weekend, and that is encouraging. — Toto Wolff
Wolff also flagged the competition: the Ferrari drivers are extremely close and looked competitive all weekend in front of their home crowd, McLaren and Red Bull were quick, and Gasly starts ahead.
Trackside Engineering Director Andrew Shovlin said Russell had struggled with persistent brake locking through qualifying — an issue that had not appeared in final practice — and that setting changes only partly contained it in the heavy braking zones for the chicanes. Using Antonelli as a tow, he explained, helped Russell but left the Italian running all of his laps in clear air, costing him a couple of tenths.
What it means for Sunday
Monza’s long straights and slipstreaming make it one of the calendar’s better overtaking venues, so grid position matters less here than at most circuits. Russell said the priority is a clean start and staying out of trouble on the opening lap; Shovlin expects an interesting strategic race with one car at the front and one recovering from the back. If Antonelli’s Friday pace holds, the team hopes he can work his way into the higher points positions.
Facts: Mercedes at the 2026 Italian Grand Prix
- Qualifying, George Russell: P2, 1:21.846
- Gap to pole: 0.060 seconds
- Pole position: Pierre Gasly, Alpine
- Qualifying, Kimi Antonelli: P7 — starts from the back of the grid after a power-unit change penalty
- Circuit: Monza, Italy
The Italian Grand Prix takes place at Monza on Sunday.
Source: media.mercedes-benz.com