George Russell must win the Italian Grand Prix to keep his Formula 1 championship hopes alive, former F1 driver Jolyon Palmer has warned.
Speaking on the F1 Nation podcast, Palmer assessed the title battle after a dramatic Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort. McLaren’s Lando Norris won in dominant fashion, finishing ahead of Mercedes teammates Kimi Antonelli and Russell.
Antonelli is set to receive an engine penalty at his home race in Monza, creating an opportunity for Russell to reduce the gap in the championship standings. However, Palmer believes a strong result for Antonelli could put the title beyond Russell’s reach.
“He could win it because the way that he’s been driving, I think Mercedes are the sure-fire favourites for Monza still,” Palmer said of Antonelli. “But when you reference Max’s comeback wins, that’s largely against Checo, isn’t it? Who was a lot further away from Max’s pace than George is of Kimi’s. And George was better in Zandvoort.
“I know he still didn’t put the race together. He had two bad first laps that set him apart. And his race pace wasn’t quite as good as Kimi’s either. But I don’t think in a clean race Kimi will come from 10th or 11th to beat George if George is anywhere near form from pole position.
Palmer expects strategy, safety cars, engine performance and reliability to play important roles at Monza, where Russell will need to capitalize on any advantage created by Antonelli’s grid penalty.
“With strategy differences, safety car involvements, it’s going to be tough on components across the board. Power units are going to be singing. Reliability’s not going to be easy at Monza.
“If Kimi wins in Monza with a grid penalty, he is champion. I’ll go as far as saying that. It’ll be such a crushing blow. He will have won his home race with a load of overtaking, huge aplomb, and it will suck the life out of George to not take points out of him in Monza. George has to win this.”
Antonelli currently leads the Formula 1 standings with 242 points. Russell is second on 183 points, level with seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton.
