Sentenced to start from the back of the grid at Monza, Kimi Antonelli could put his qualifying to the service of George Russell. Mercedes has already prepared its plan.
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A rather unusual situation at Mercedes. Leader of the championship with a 59-point lead over George Russell, Kimi Antonelli could nevertheless play the perfect teammate this weekend at Monza by directly helping his main rival for the title.
The Italian will have to start from the back of the grid of his home Grand Prix after Mercedes’ decision to install a completely new power unit in his W17. His qualifying will therefore have practically no influence on his starting position, which opens up the possibility of using him to provide a slipstream to Russell.
And Antonelli confirms that this possibility has already been discussed with his team.
Mercedes has already prepared its plan
Antonelli’s penalty is not a surprise. The 20-year-old driver had almost reached the end of his regulatory allocation for several components of his power unit and a sanction seemed hardly avoidable before the end of the season.
Mercedes therefore chose to trigger it at Monza by installing a completely new set. With its long straights and numerous overtaking opportunities, the Italian circuit theoretically offers more chances to climb back up than the upcoming urban rounds in Madrid and Baku.
This decision, however, means that Antonelli will not be able to truly benefit from a possible pole position. Mercedes is therefore considering exploiting his presence on track differently.
Asked about discussions regarding help for Russell, Antonelli confirms: “Yes, we talked about it.”
Antonelli could provide slipstream to Russell
At Monza, slipstream traditionally plays a major role in qualifying. A car placed a few seconds behind another can benefit from the air displaced by the one in front and reduce its drag on the long straights.
With the new characteristics of the 2026 power units and the reduction of available electric power at the end of the straight, this advantage could become even more important this year.
Mercedes could therefore ask Antonelli to position himself in front of Russell to offer his teammate a slipstream during a decisive lap.
“We discussed it with the team and agreed on certain things. We will see how the session evolves, but if the team asks me to do it, I will do it,” confirms the championship leader.
A surprising helping hand to his rival for the title
The situation is all the more interesting because Russell is precisely one of Antonelli’s main championship rivals. The Briton is 59 points behind and could take advantage of his teammate’s penalty to significantly reduce this gap.
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Helping Russell secure a better grid position could therefore, indirectly, complicate Antonelli’s own situation in the title race.
But the Italian prioritizes Mercedes’ interests. Since his penalty is already confirmed, he considers it pointless to refuse help that could allow the team to maximize its result.
“Obviously, I would always be happy to get pole position, but I will start from the back of the grid anyway,” he acknowledges.
“So, if I can do anything to help the team, I will do it. I will do it.”
An almost meaningless qualifying for Antonelli
Antonelli obviously should not completely neglect his own session. A good pace in qualifying would allow him to check the performance of his W17 before a race that promises to be essentially a long climb through the field.
But unlike his rivals, his final position in Q1, Q2 or Q3 will not really determine his starting place. Mercedes therefore has an unusual strategic freedom to use his car for Russell’s benefit.
The objective will nevertheless be not to unnecessarily compromise Antonelli’s preparation. Despite starting from the back, the championship leader hopes to benefit from Mercedes’ competitiveness and the overtaking opportunities offered by Monza to limit the damage.
Russell faces a golden opportunity
For Russell, the scenario represents on the contrary a major opportunity. The Briton arrives at Monza 59 points behind and knows that a victory accompanied by a more distant finish for Antonelli could considerably reduce the gap.
Jolyon Palmer even considered that the Italian Grand Prix constituted a real “now or never” for Russell. Seeing Antonelli win his home race despite a penalty would be, according to the former driver, an extremely difficult psychological blow to absorb.
Even before the race, Russell could nevertheless benefit from a precious helping hand from the one he is trying to catch up with.
Leader of the championship but sentenced to start from the back of the grid, Antonelli finds himself in a paradoxical position: helping his main rival maximize his qualifying. An instruction he is ready to accept without hesitation if Mercedes decides to activate it.
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