“Done over by Max” - Toto Wolff unhappy with Max Verstappen for ‘lost pole’ at Monza

Mercedes Formula 1 boss Toto Wolff has blamed Max Verstappen for costing George Russell pole position at the Italian Grand Prix. 

Russell was the favourite to take pole heading into qualifying but he was beaten by Pierre Gasly by 0.060 seconds as the Alpine driver stunned with an incredible last-gasp lap. 

The 28-year-old Briton could not improve on his final lap of Q3, which Wolff claimed was ruined by Red Bull’s Verstappen. 

Asked if something went wrong for Russell, Wolff told Sky Sports F1: “Yeah, I think at the end where he got done over by Max in the final run when launching the lap. 

"It was just much too close, and that compromised the lap time eventually and that lost pole position.”

Russell said he started his final lap too close to Verstappen. 

“Everything was all looking fine but then going into Parabolica, Max just slammed on the brakes and didn't want to be the lead car," Russell explained. 

"In hindsight, it would probably have been better not trying this, but P2 is a good place to start.”

With direct title rival and Mercedes team-mate Andrea Kimi Antonelli starting from the back due to an engine penalty, Sunday’s race provides Russell with a golden opportunity to reduce his 59-point championship deficit to the Italian. 

But Wolff is wary of the threats surrounding Russell. That includes Gasly, who claimed a memorable maiden F1 victory at Monza in 2020. 

“You always need to take everybody seriously,” Wolff said. 

"They have a huge amount of straight-line speed. They’ve taken away a lot of drag, and on a single lap, that proved to be what is necessary. 

“Race is a completely different ball game, so we shall see.”

Wolff also downplayed Antonelli’s chances of recovering to the podium. 

“I think it’s too much to ask,” Wolff conceded. “You can see it becomes so difficult once you get past a certain group of backmarkers, the performances are so close that unless you play a very different strategy and put a bit of a gamble in, I don’t think it’s possible.”