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It was a bittersweet Mercedes garage after Qualifying for the 2024 Italian Grand Prix at Monza, sweet was the smile on George Russell who put his car in P3 on the grid for Sunday’s race but bitter was Lewis Hamilton who will start P6 when he felt he had a lap good enough for pole position.
Mercedes lost their race-winning form at Zandvoort and are still recovering it to the point, that Russell’s effort was probably a bit more than the car had as he chased the McLaren duo but did enough to deny Ferrari and all Red second row for their home race.
Russell was beaming in parc ferme and later reported in the Mercedes Qualifying report: “P3 was a good result today. It was very tight out there between several teams so starting on the second row is not a bad place to be.
“It took me a little bit of time to get the most out of the car; we looked at how to get the best out of the tyres and I saved my two best laps for last. To be just one-tenth off pole position is a little frustrating but overall, we can be happy with our Saturday,” he added.
Regarding the race, Russell echoed the sentiment of all witnessing the 75th edition of the Italian Grand Prix unfold: “I think it’s going to be a tight battle. Everybody’s so close out there. It’s so exciting for F1. We’ve all been waiting for this competition and knowing if you do a great job, you’ve got a chance of victory.
“So, I’m pretty pumped for the race. I’ll get some pizza tonight to fuel me up and a bit of extra weight, so I’m not too light tomorrow, and hopefully we can fight for a good result,” he joked, referencing his DQ after ‘winning’ the Belgian GP.
Hamilton: Unfortunately, I just didn’t do the job
Hamilton on the other hand was left to lament his spoiled effort, laying the blame firmly on himself after Qualifying he said: “I am very disappointed with how today went. I think we could have been on the front-row, maybe even pole position.
“Unfortunately, I just didn’t do the job today. I lost one tenth and-a-half through turns one and two, and then one more tenth in the final corner. There is nobody else to blame but myself. Qualifying has been a weakness of mine recently, but I’ll keep trying to figure it out.
“We have a good race car. That should give us confidence for tomorrow. The team has done an amazing job to get the W15 into a much better window than it was in Zandvoort. The car has been feeling so much better,” reported Hamilton.
Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff saw the upside to their showing: “We have to be pleased with today given our poor performance in Zandvoort. We have been able to bounce back strongly here in Monza and, at least in Qualifying, we were fighting at the very front.”
Wolff: McLarens are the benchmark and we were able to challenge them
The Mercedes team boss continued: “It was incredibly close out there too. Lewis was just half-a-tenth shy of George and that was the difference between several positions. Small differences can really have a big impact at present.
The McLarens have been very good on their tyres in recent races. That will help them tomorrow and you have to say that they are favourites heading into race day. Others were quick in their long runs on Friday though so I don’t think you can rule anyone out. We will be pushing hard to get back on the podium,” declared Wolff.
Looking ahead to the race, Mercedes trackside boss Andrew Shovlin said: “George is well placed lining up in P3. Our starts have been good recently and it’s a long run to turn one. If we can get between the McLarens off the line, that will help our chances of a strong afternoon.
“Lewis has a bit of work to do starting from behind the Ferraris, but the degradation here looks set to be high. There could be plenty of opportunity to get into the fight at the front if that is the case. As we know, he is one of the best at tyre management so we can be excited as to what Sunday may bring,” concluded Shovlin.
Of 74 Italian Grand Prix races held to date, Hamilton has won five of them. Can he make it six on Sunday?
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