George Russell heads to Monza next weekend for a make-or-break race in his bid to become Formula 1 world champion. He is further than ever behind team-mate Kimi Antonelli, now 59 points adrift after losing more ground at Zandvoort last Sunday, after he followed a team order to let the Italian through so Mercedes could preserve their double podium.
Antonelli set for back-of-grid start
Antonelli, who turned 20 on Tuesday, has his home race next but Mercedes' reliability issues this year have made it unlikely to be a triumphant return to Italy. He needs to take new engine parts beyond his annual allowance and, because of its high-speed long straights and overtaking opportunities, Monza has been identified as the best place to swallow those penalties.
"Our calculations say that that's the best track to take it," said boss Toto Wolff. "Obviously, algorithms don't take their nationality into consideration. We're here to fight for a championship and not get the most PR. So yeah, that's what we're going to do."
Grid penalties and title implications
A first offence of the season of any extra engine parts comes with an automatic 10-place grid drop, which stack if multiple new components are introduced. Grid penalties of 15 places or more turn into an automatic back-of-grid start. Wolff said Antonelli will "take the full thing" at Monza, implying he is set to start from the very back in Italy next Sunday.
He will surely make his way back up into the points, unless disaster strikes, but Russell clearly has his best opportunity to take a chunk out of his team-mate's advantage at Monza. The Brit has had his own engine problems but his situation is not quite as dire as Antonelli's and he may make it to the end of the year without needing to go beyond his allowance.
"With George, the discussions are ongoing, if we were to take it," Wolff said. His chances of avoiding a massive grid drop himself at some point will increase if the 11 remaining rounds are reduced to 10, as is looking increasingly likely.
Season finale uncertainty
The Qatar and Abu Dhabi races are set to be scrapped unless significant strides towards peace in the Middle East are made in the coming weeks. Stefano Domenicali, chief executive of Formula 1, recently said the sport's hand will be forced unless things have improved by mid-September, which is when teams would need to start sending sea freight to the region.
Imola, near Antonelli's hometown Bologna, is set to step in to host a season finale if those two races are axed. And unless Russell or Lewis Hamilton produce the goods at Monza, it looks increasingly likely to be the local hero who is celebrated at that hastily-arranged European finale.
