“He will probably be in the lead after 15 laps,” George Russell feels Max Verstappen will easily tear through the grid during the Italian GP

George Russell is starting the upcoming Italian Grand Prix from P2 and is targeting a podium at the least, but has indicated that it will be difficult for everyone starting ahead of Max Verstappen to keep him behind for long.

George Russell believes the Red Bull starlet would easily make his way through the grid and get into the lead in the race by lap 15 of the 53-lap race.

Max Verstappen qualified second during Qualifying yesterday and is starting from P4 even after taking a five-place grid penalty for using a new ICE unit on his RB18. Charles Leclerc is starting from pole position in front of the Tifosi.

Max Verstappen has been pushed up on the grid because of the FIA sporting regulations that state the qualifying order dictates the order in which penalties are to be taken.

Carlos Sainz, Sergio Perez, and, Lewis Hamilton’s grid drop means Max Verstappen has been promoted up on the grid and is now going to start the race from P4 instead of P7.

Moreover, the Dutchman has been in supreme form this season and Russell does not see him chasing after cars for long, and while talking about him said, “I don’t really understand how all of that [penalty system] works really, but we are not really too focused on him because it doesn’t matter what he does.”

“And what they do, they will finish ahead of us ultimately, but he’ll probably be in the lead after 15 laps maybe.”

“I don’t think it’s quite as easy to overtake here as it was at Spa, but with the pace, they’ve got they will be slicing through.”

Also Read: “There is no cost cap on the engines,” Toto Wolff on the importance of F1 Grid Penalties

George Russell wants to focus on his race rather than worrying about Max Verstappen

The grid penalties up and down the pit lane have put George Russell in a very advantageous position ahead of the race, and while the Brit is aware of the raw pace of Verstappen who is staring behind him, he has stressed that it is going to be important for him to only focus on his race and take the fight to the Ferrari team.

While stressing about the importance of focusing on himself, Russell added, “I think we need to focus on ourselves, to be honest.”

“I think we’ve seen probably last week and in Budapest that when we are trying to fight with cars that are ultimately faster than us, we end up just compromising our overall results.“

“I’d like to think we could fight with Charles. I think fighting with Max will be no chance, they are far quicker than us – trying to stay ahead of Checo and Carlos who are obviously coming from the back of the field.”

“The podium will be a minimum for us, but I hope we can have a clean start and at least put up a bit of a fight.”

George Russell has blatantly admitted that there is no chance of him being able to fight with Max Verstappen during the race but is hopeful of putting up a challenge against Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.

With Charles starting ahead of George, it is going to be important for the Brit to try and get into the lead by the time they reach the first corner of the track because historically, it has proven difficult to overtake at Monza and the first corner could prove to be the best opportunity for the Brit to get the better of Leclerc in front of the Tifosi.

Also Read: Confusion ensues as drivers were unaware about their starting positions for the Italian GP

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