George Russell's first words to Kimi Antonelli in Italian GP cooldown room speak volumes

George Russell's first words to Kimi Antonelli in the Italian Grand Prix cooldown room spoke volumes about his race.

Antonelli won the Grand Prix despite starting from the back of the grid.

The 18-year-old moved up to 12th place during the chaotic opening laps, before a red flag period enabled him to pick off his rivals once the race resumed.

Antonelli caught up to Russell with several laps to go but, as he was attempting to overtake around the outside into turn two, locked his front tyres and speared into the gravel trap.

Fortunately for the Italian, who was in front of his home crowd at Monza, he was able to regroup and pass Russell at the second attempt.

George Russell dealt Italian GP hammer blow by Kimi Antonelli

Russell went into the weekend with a golden opportunity to close the gap on Antonelli's 59-point advantage at the top of the Drivers' Championship.

The Italian took a power unit penalty which relegated him to the back of the grid, though he still reached and took part in Q3 on Saturday.

Russell was edged out into second place on the grid by Alpine's Pierre Gasly, who took a surprise pole position.

But the Brit cleared his rival in the opening laps and would have had his eyes on a valuable race win.

The sight of Antonelli overtaking him in the closing laps, though, could do irreparable damage to his title ambitions, with 66 points now separating the two drivers in the standings with 10 races to go.

And while there is still plenty of time to reduce that deficit, Antonelli has proven in Monza what a commanding position he currently has in comparison to the rest of the grid.

It was telling, therefore, that Russell's first act upon seeing Antonelli in the cooldown room was to ask what his strategy mode - the setting used to control power unit deployment and energy recovery - at the beginning of the race.

After the pair watched footage of Charles Leclerc's crash alongside third-placed finisher Max Verstappen, Antonelli turned to Russell and first asked him what strategy mode he was in.

"Erm... 7 and 4," Russell said. "Were you in eight?"

When Antonelli said he was, Russell replied: "Ah... you were flying."

Russell had reported issues with derating on his car during the race, but his race engineer Marcus Dudley told him to keep the same mode.

When is the next F1 Grand Prix?

Formula 1 returns next weekend (September 13) with the inaugural Madrid Grand Prix, which is being hosted at the Circuito de Madring.

The race will be known as the Spanish Grand Prix from next year, with the Circuit de Catalunya - which currently hosts the Grand Prix of the same name - set to alternate from 2028, 2030 and 2032.

Charles Leclerc will hope to be fully fit for the Grand Prix in Madrid after his heavy crash on lap 3 in Monza, which was estimated at 50G.

READ MORE: F1 fans spot worrying detail on Oscar Piastri's onboard before Charles Leclerc crash

Leclerc was given the all-clear by medical staff but confirmed he that had concerns over his eyes immediately after getting out of the car.

"I'm okay, now only my eye gives me a bit of problems," he said. "I'm not hurt - everything is okay on that."