George Russell found a friend in medium tyres during Italian Grand Prix qualifying, but did not get his wish of using the yellow-walled compound during Q3.

Instead sent out once more on the soft Pirelli tyres, Russell expressed his surprise over team radio, and has since admitted that he did not make his wish to use mediums clear enough. Having thought “the plan” meant mediums, Russell admitted there had been a “miscommunication” between himself and Mercedes.

George Russell and Mercedes involved in Italian GP mix-up

Additional reporting by Thomas Maher

Russell and team-mate Kimi Antonelli went down an alternate path during the opening segment of qualifying by using the medium rubber. It was enough to bag Russell top spot in Q1.

But, the move to softs did not trigger the usual margin

See Full Page