Russell can take as many as 25 points out of Antonelli in one race

George Russell will line up alongside Gasly while championship leader Kimi Antonelli starts from the back after power-unit component changes. Antonelli has 242 points to Russell’s 183. A Russell win combined with a non-score for Antonelli would cut the gap from 59 to 34 points in a single afternoon. Lewis Hamilton also has 183 points but starts fourth.

Russell had looked like the natural qualifying favourite after topping FP2 and FP3 and holding provisional pole after the first Q3 runs, helped by Antonelli’s tow. His final lap was quicker again, but Gasly found another 0.060s. Russell also reported more locking and instability than in final practice.

For Mercedes, the normal picture is almost reversed: Russell has a direct chance to recover a large part of his deficit, while Antonelli first has to reach the points. The championship leader had already devoted much of Friday to long runs and traffic in preparation for that recovery drive.