George Russell was surprised by the performance of McLaren and Ferrari in qualifying for Saturday's Miami Grand Prix sprint race, saying the improvements from both teams since the last race in Japan were "damn impressive."
Russell's Mercedes team has won all three grands prix this season and taken pole position in every qualifying session, but reigning champion Lando Norris bucked that trend Friday to claim the sprint qualifying pole for McLaren in Miami.
Kimi Antonelli will start second for Mercedes, while Russell could only manage sixth on the grid behind both McLarens, the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc and the Red Bull of Max Verstappen.
The turnaround in performance comes after a monthlong break in which McLaren and Ferrari have brought significant upgrades to its cars while Mercedes is waiting on its first major update at the next round in Canada.
"I mean, pretty surprised at how big a jump McLaren and Ferrari have made, so that's pretty damn impressive," he said. "We knew they'd probably close the gap but, you know, they've been quicker than us.
"My side, I have been struggling today. Miami's not a track that I love, to be honest, especially in these hotter conditions. But, you know, it's only sprint qualifying, so let's see what tomorrow brings."
Russell said his lack of performance stemmed from overheating his tires, which had not been a major issue for Mercedes at the opening three races in cooler conditions.
"I was just overheating my tires a lot in that twisty section in the middle," Russell said. "I was struggling to get the right balance with the car. So, yeah, not much more to say than that, really.
"As I said, just being quite surprised by the progress of the others. But another day tomorrow."
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