The 2026 F1 Miami GP has been a forgettable one for Mercedes’ George Russell thus far. The bad run only continued into a disappointing Qualifying session on Saturday.
The Briton placed himself fifth on the grid and clocked in a time of 1:28.197. His fastest lap of Q3 was close to four tenths slower than polesitter and teammate KimiAntonelli. Despite his best efforts, it is evident that Russell was struggling much more than his teammate against upgraded cars.
Russell explains why Antonelli is more dominant in Miami
Russell admitted to making a mistake on the final lap of Qualifying and believes that his error by going far too deep in turn 17 had cost him P2 on the grid.
However, the 28-year-old also admitted that the Miami International Autodrome was not one of his strongest tracks on the calendar.
“I just made a mistake on my last corner, last lap, I was about three tenths up. A little bit annoyed, but this is a track I’ve always struggled with.”
Russell went on to explain how Antonelli performs better at low-grip tracks, which he personally struggles at, and shared that he preferred high-grip tracks, such as Barcelona, Spa and more.
“Kimi was on [Sprint] pole last year, I was P5, today he’s pole, and I’m P5. It’s just very low grip here, you’re sliding around a lot, [the] tarmac’s hot. Similar to Brazil [2025], Kimi [Antonelli] again was more competitive than me there. Whereas I much prefer the high grip conditions, where the tyre and the car is more connected with the ground.”
Russell currently sits second in the Drivers’ Championship and is seven points behind championship leader Antonelli. The Briton is now focused on maximising his race on Sunday and maintaining his position in the standings.
“So yeah, I just want to get through this weekend, really.”
Russell on the lack of pace compared to his rivals on track during Qualifying at the 2026 F1 Miami GP
Mercedes dominated the opening three rounds of the 2026 F1 season. The Brackley outfit had taken both pole position and victory at all three races. However, with the impromptu five-week break prior to the 2026 F1 Miami GP, many teams were able to bring upgrades to their 2026 challengers. It has been evident since FP1 that these upgrades have had a major impact.
Russell reflected on his Qualifying performance and admitted that the grid has caught up to Mercedes entering the 2026 F1 Miami GP weekend.
The Briton also noted the improvement in pace of the Ferraris in comparison to the Mercedes.
“I think because the pace between cars is slightly closer together now, you know, us and Ferrari look within a tenth or two, whereas in China and Melbourne we probably had half a second on them, so that’s a factor.”
He added that Mercedes had the added advantage of being better at energy management compared to their rivals during the early rounds of the season, which had given them a significant competitive edge.
However, due to the technical regulation overhaul that debuted at the 2026 F1 Miami GP, Mercedes no longer has this advantage over the rest.
“And also, I think we were doing a better job when our competitors were in energy management, which gave us a chance to overtake.
“So I would say what we’re seeing here is probably a bit more normal, and that was always a risk, probably of the rule change. So, maybe the drivers are slightly happier, but that’s the compromise, unfortunately.”
Russell shares how energy deployment can affect a race
At the Miami International Autodrome, energy deployment is less of a concern for drivers during the race. This is because, unlike other tracks that require drivers to “lift and coast” to recharge their batteries, the 2026 F1 Miami GP provides an ample amount of opportunities for drivers to do so.
Russell shared how most of the grid will be using the same energy deployment strategy along the main straights on the track.
The Briton also revealed that the following weekend in Montreal would be significantly more challenging when it came to overtaking as everyone will deploy on the long straight in Sector 3, as well as the start-finish one.
“I would say Montreal would be more challenging to pass than here, because you’ve got two clear straights where you’re going to deploy all of your energy and all of the drivers are going to be using that same strategy, whereas tracks like Melbourne or maybe, I guess, like Silverstone, where you can sort of deploy at different places, you’ll probably see a bit more of this yo-yo racing.
“But Montreal, I think, with the current rules there, would probably be a bit more challenging.”
