Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has delivered a strong endorsement of George Russell’s qualifying prospects despite the British driver finishing seven-tenths behind teammate Kimi Antonelli in Monaco Grand Prix final practice. Russell ended the session in fourth place while Antonelli topped the timesheet as the only driver to break into the 1 minute, 12-second barrier at the Circuit de Monaco.
Antonelli’s impressive pace came as a major surprise following Mercedes’ struggles during Friday’s practice sessions, with overnight setup changes proving highly effective for the 19-year-old Italian. The championship leader’s performance left even Ferrari, which had dominated Friday running, unable to match his lap time, though Charles Leclerc was competitive before making an error at Turn 10.
“That was a good session for Kimi, fast,” Wolff told Sky F1. “Now we just need to continue to build for qualifying. Leclerc’s lap before he made a mistake in Turn 10 was there or thereabout, so it’s still not going to be in the walk in the park but we are very positively surprised.”
Despite the significant gap between the teammates, Wolff remains confident in Russell’s ability to respond when qualifying begins. The 28-year-old Briton faces a crucial weekend as he trails Antonelli by 43 points in the championship standings and needs strong results to revive his title hopes.
“I think with George you can never write him off,” Wolff emphasized. “He’s going to look at the data, he still didn’t feel 100 per cent confident or comfortable in the car in the way that Kimi did, so I’m quite keen to see how the two are going to be in qualifying.” The team principal also noted that Antonelli’s father, himself a former driver, warned his son about pushing beyond the limit, suggesting the young Italian may already be extracting maximum performance from the Mercedes.