Russell explains struggles in Miami Sprint Qualifying as he admits being ‘surprised’ by progress of rivals

George Russell has explained the issues that led to him “struggling” during Sprint Qualifying at the Miami Grand Prix, with the Briton – who ended the session in sixth – admitting to being “surprised” by how Mercedes’ rivals have progressed.

After some issues for the Silver Arrows in Friday’s sole practice session, the championship leaders were somewhat on the back foot when SQ1 got underway a few hours later.

It would prove to be McLaren and Ferrari – both teams that have brought upgrade packages this weekend – who set the pace through Sprint Qualifying, with Lando Norris ultimately coming out on top to seal pole position for Saturday’s Sprint.

While Kimi Antonelli slotted into P2 during the closing moments of SQ3, his Mercedes team mate Russell had to settle for P6 and later reflected on the challenges of the day as he spoke to the media afterwards.

“It’s pretty surprising how big a jump McLaren and Ferrari have made, so that’s pretty damn impressive,” the 28-year-old said. “We knew they’d probably close the gap, but all day they’ve been quicker than us.

“On my side I’ve been struggling today – Miami’s not a track that I love, to be honest, especially in these hotter conditions. But it’s only Sprint Qualifying, so let’s see what tomorrow brings.”

Pushed on the key areas that were causing those struggles, Russell explained: “It was just overheating the tyres a lot in that twisty section in the middle – I was struggling to get the right balance with the car so, yeah, not much more to say than that really.

“As I said, I’ve just been quite surprised by the progress of the others, but another day tomorrow.”

When asked if he felt that it would take a lot to bring the fight to those ahead of him on Saturday, the British driver conceded: “I don’t know. I’m not in a great starting position.

“Sprint races generally don’t offer that much, but obviously China was a bit more interesting this year, which gives an opportunity to have a bit of a race. So I want to get off the line – hopefully don’t lose any more positions – and see what we can do.”