George Russell Reflects on Miami Grand Prix Qualifying Performance

George Russell, the Mercedes driver, was taken aback as he found himself just two tenths away from Max Verstappen’s pole lap at the Miami Grand Prix. Despite his struggles during the second phase of qualifying, Russell managed to secure a spot in Q3 and eventually qualified fifth for the grand prix, only 0.01 seconds behind McLaren‘s Oscar Piastri.

Struggles in Qualifying and Tyre Issues

Russell admitted that he had been struggling throughout the weekend, with qualifying being a strength of his in the 2025 season. However, he felt uncomfortable in Miami, which affected his performance. He attributed his poor showing to issues with the front tyres, stating that he was having trouble feeling the bite in the middle sector of the lap.

Russell suggested that an overnight increase in tyre pressures had compounded the issue, particularly since Mercedes seemed to be one of the teams most affected by this change. He acknowledged that teammate Andrea Kimi Antonelli had been performing exceptionally well throughout the weekend.

Russell expressed his disappointment but was satisfied with securing a top-five spot. He admitted that it was damage control on days like these, and he expected the gap to extend in the race.

With sprint races, starting on the back foot can make it difficult to turn things around, and this was the case for Russell in Miami. He struggled significantly in sector two, where the front end of the car was not responding as expected.

Kimi Antonelli’s Impressive Performance

Despite his struggles, Russell praised teammate Kimi Antonelli for his impressive performance throughout the weekend. He acknowledged that Antonelli had been consistently fast and had done an amazing job.