Russell expands on Mercedes’ prospects in Miami as he suggests Silver Arrows now ‘third fastest team’ despite P2 in championship

George Russell has admitted that there are some question marks over how Mercedes might perform at this weekend’s Miami Grand Prix, with the Briton also suggesting that the team are currently “third fastest” despite holding second place in the championship.

After a strong start to the campaign for himself and the squad – which saw him claim three podium finishes – Russell ended up P5 last time out in Saudi Arabia, a weekend that boss Toto Wolff labelled as the Silver Arrows’ “worst performance so far from the year”.

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However, when asked during media day in Miami if those three rostrums had tallied with what he had expected prior to the season getting underway, Russell answered: “No, I think it’s probably better than our pre-season expectations, to be honest.

“The pace has fallen out where we thought – that step behind McLaren and then a close fight with Red Bull and Ferrari. We’ve been doing really well to get those podiums, but I don’t think it necessarily means we are the second fastest team.

JEDDAH, SAUDI ARABIA - APRIL 20: George Russell of Great Britain driving the (63) Mercedes AMG — Russell admits that his results in the first few races of the campaign have been «better than our pre-season expectations»

“I think sort of on average we’re the third fastest team. We saw Charles [Leclerc] had a great race last week and obviously Max [Verstappen] the last couple of races, but we’ve just been nicely consistent and picking up points.”

Given the tougher weekend that the team faced in Jeddah, Russell was also quizzed on whether he and the squad had since reached any conclusions on why they experienced a drop in form at the track.

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“Tyres were too hot, really,” the 27-year-old said. “That was a big problem. I think just pushing a bit too hard to try and keep up with the front two. Charles put in a really strong race. I was probably driving too quick for what the tyres and the car were capable of, and then we dropped off a cliff.

“Not too sure how this weekend’s going to pan out because in terms of temperatures and tyres, it’ll be relatively similar to Jeddah. We’ll have to wait and see and see if any of the learnings we’ve taken from last week translate into a bit of performance.

“I’m confident the Quali pace will be there or thereabouts, but the race pace – there’s a bit more of a question mark.”

MIAMI, FLORIDA - MAY 01: Andrea Kimi Antonelli of Italy and Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team looks on — Antonelli is looking forward to his first experience of Miami

On the other side of the garage, Kimi Antonelli is looking forward to his first experience of Miami. However, like Russell, the Italian admitted that he is unsure of what to expect in terms of race pace.

“I think we’ve been really consistent, especially Qualifying pace for us has always been very strong and so I think hopefully this weekend we can still be fighting for front rows in Qualifying,” Antonelli explained.

“Then, about the race, I don’t really know what to expect. Jeddah of course we struggled a little bit, me and George during the race, but I think the track is still pretty close tarmac.

“Deg didn’t seem to be very big in the previous races so I think there will be a lot to fight for and, as I said, our Qualifying pace has been strong so far so hopefully we can repeat that and if we can start in front hopefully we can fight for good positions.”

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Pushed on whether he expects to be able to accrue more points at the Miami International Autodrome – during a weekend that will feature the return of the Sprint – Antonelli spoke positively about how he is adapting to the W16 so far.

“It’s a new track for me but every weekend I’m getting more confidence with the car,” the 18-year-old said. “Every time I’m able to push it more and more. Of course I’m not where I want to be yet. But this weekend can be a good opportunity, even though it’s a track I don’t know.

“If I do a good job enough in FP1 especially then we can do a good weekend. Of course there’s also the Sprint, so more mileage in order to be ready for the proper Qualifying and the race. I think it can give good opportunities but of course I’m going to focus on the job I have to do.

“I’m going to try to improve what I have to do better. Jeddah was a good race because there were many points to analyse – race pace and Quali wise – so really looking forward to this one and I’ll try to do better.”