Mercedes cites software uncertainty for not pitting Russell during Monza VSC

Mercedes did not bring George Russell into the pits during the virtual safety car (VSC) period at the Italian Grand Prix because its strategic software could not identify a superior option, team boss Toto Wolff said after the race. The software indicated that a one-stop plan for Russell might be ahead, while a two-stop approach for teammate Kimi Antonelli was close to catching up but not guaranteed to overtake.

The team had split tyre strategies, putting Antonelli on medium compounds after an early red flag and keeping Russell on hards following a restart caused by Charles Leclerc’s crash. When the VSC was deployed on lap 27, Mercedes elected to pit Antonelli, who later overtook Russell on fresher tyres to win the race.

"We didn't know what was the better strategy," Wolff told the media. "At that stage, the system said that the one-stop for Russell comes out ahead. That two-stop was coming close to the end, but wouldn't catch."

Wolff added that the decision to stop Antonelli was made despite the driver reporting his tyres were in good condition, noting that visual abrasion was observed on other cars.

"We didn't talk to Kimi about the stop. We asked for the state of the tyre and he said, 'Well it's actually good' but it was clear that we saw abrasion," Wolff explained.

Russell later said he believed he could have defended his position if he had remained on the same strategy, but acknowledged the VSC timing was advantageous for Antonelli’s pit stop.

"I would have loved to have continued on the same strategy," Russell said in the post-race press conference. "I was a little bit annoyed with the timing of that VSC, because I think it would have been tough for those guys on the medium to have competed with anybody on the hard tyre."

The race left Russell 66 points behind Antonelli in the championship standings.