David Croft states that George Russell "has a right to feel wronged" following the strategy decision made by Mercedes at Monza.

Sky Sports Formula 1's chief commentator David Croft has suggested that George Russell has legitimate reasons to "feel wronged" following Mercedes' strategic decision during the virtual safety car phase at the Italian Grand Prix.

In the Monza race, Russell was in the lead on hard compound tyres, having opted for a long stint after an early red flag restart. When a late virtual safety car was deployed, Mercedes chose to pit Russell's teammate Kimi Antonelli, who was also contending for the victory, for medium tyres to counter Red Bull's Max Verstappen. Russell was directed to remain on track.

With the difference in tyres, the Italian driver narrowed the gap and passed Russell with three laps to go, ultimately securing his first victory at his home grand prix after starting from 19th on the grid. Russell settled for second place.

In a discussion on the Sky Sports F1 Show, Croft argued that the Brackley team did not adequately safeguard the car that was leading the race.

"He has every right to feel wronged. The plan was to go the distance. He managed to do just that. His pace was decent. However, the moment Mercedes started thinking, 'We should pit Kimi to cover Max,' they ought to have also considered, 'Let’s bring George in as well,'" Croft articulated.

George Russell, Mercedes

"I understand that Kimi might have lost a couple of seconds due to that double stack, but it’s a low-cost pitstop. There was an opportunity there. George mentioned that it was poorly timed; the medium tyre runners would have struggled towards the end. But a bit of caution here, and you should allow your leading driver, who is performing well, the chance to compete on equal footing if there’s parity within the team, which there is.

"I would feel somewhat wronged if I were George, and he expressed it in the immediate post-race interviews, saying, 'I was a little taken aback to see Kimi coming in.' I don’t think he anticipated anyone else would pit. Perhaps he should have, but if they believed Kimi required a tyre change, they ought to have done the same for George."