Breaking: ANGRY TOTO WOLFF PUNCHES COMPUTER SCREEN AS MERCEDES PLAN GOES WRONG AT F1 I….See details in comment

ANGRY TOTO WOLFF PUNCHES COMPUTER SCREEN AS MERCEDES PLAN GOES WRONG AT F1 I….

Toto Wolff’s frustration boiled over at Monza after Mercedes narrowly missed out on pole position for the 2026 Italian Grand Prix.

The Mercedes team principal was caught on camera striking the team’s computer screen after George Russell was beaten to pole by Alpine’s Pierre Gasly during a dramatic qualifying session.

Gasly produced a sensational final lap to take pole by just 0.060 seconds, securing Alpine’s first Formula 1 pole position since Fernando Alonso achieved the feat for Renault at the 2009 Hungarian Grand Prix.

Wolff had been hoping to see Russell start from the front after Mercedes appeared to have the pace to challenge for pole. Instead, the Briton had to settle for second place.

The Austrian’s frustration became obvious immediately after Gasly’s lap. Wolff initially banged his hand on the desk before striking the computer screen, although the equipment survived the outburst.

Asked afterwards whether the screen had been damaged, Wolff played down the incident.

“It’s okay,” Wolff said, explaining that he was simply desperate to see Russell take pole.

He added that Russell had looked like the quickest driver during qualifying but was compromised during the final run.

The main source of Mercedes’ frustration involved Max Verstappen and the battle for a tow during the final part of qualifying. Russell said Verstappen slowed dramatically while trying to position himself behind Kimi Antonelli, leaving Russell in an awkward position for his own final attempt.

Russell was particularly disappointed because Mercedes appeared to have a strong chance of taking pole. He described the final stages of qualifying as messy and believed the traffic situation cost him valuable time.

Wolff was similarly critical of what happened, later pointing the finger at Verstappen for disrupting Mercedes’ final run.

Despite his disappointment, Wolff also congratulated Gasly and Alpine for their extraordinary performance at Monza.

“Happy for Alpine,” Wolff said, acknowledging that the team had done an impressive job to claim an unexpected pole position.

Russell will nevertheless start Sunday’s Italian Grand Prix from the front row and remains in an excellent position to fight for victory.

The dramatic qualifying result has set up a fascinating race at Monza, with Gasly starting from pole, Russell alongside him and Mercedes determined to turn their qualifying disappointment into victory.

For Wolff, however, the sight of his computer screen taking the impact of his frustration perfectly summed up just how painful missing pole by such a tiny margin had become.