George Russell says his “smooth” driving style was not suited to the Miami International Autodrome and was the reason he lost a huge lead to Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli at the Florida race.
Antonelli, who holds a seven-point lead over Russell at the top of the drivers’ championship, took an impressive pole position for Sunday’s Miami Grand Prix, finishing fifth on the grid by almost four tenths of a second over his teammate.
The results continued the pair’s good form throughout the weekend, with the 19-year-old Italian finishing second in Friday’s sprint qualifying, with Russell sixth.
Antonelli overcame a poor start to finish fourth in the sprint, four seconds behind Russell, but was relegated to sixth place, behind his teammate and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, after receiving a five-second penalty for four track limit violations.
“You just struggle on circuits with low grip, so here (in Miami) and at Zandvoort in Brazil,” Russell told Sky Sports F1 after qualifying.
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2026 Miami Grand Prix Qualifying Highlights.
“Last year was the same. We want to work on it, but three of the 24 songs are outliers, and Miami is definitely at the top of that list.”
“I’m a very smooth and precise driver. That’s always been my style. On these tracks you have to be content with the car just sliding.”
“I like edgy cars, but this is like putting old tires on your car that have 200 laps on them and driving them around in circles, and they just slip and oversteer and understeer. It’s the same for everyone.”
“It’s very hot, the tire pressure is high and the grip is very low, so it doesn’t feel very comfortable. Whereas on a track like Saudi the grip is very high.”
After Russell won the season-opening Australian Grand Prix from pole position, Antonelli fought back with wins in China and Japan to secure a nine-point championship lead before the season was suspended for five weeks when races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia were canceled.
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2026 Miami Grand Prix Sprint Race Highlights.
The fact that Russell, a leading contender for the pre-season drivers’ title, was trailing behind his much less experienced teammate after three rounds created a lot of buzz during the break.
Russell actually closed the gap in the Miami Sprint, but it was because Antonelli made an unforced error when he had a clear pace advantage over his teammate.
Russell insisted there would be no consideration of “damage limitation” for Sunday’s race, but the start time was moved forward by three hours to 6pm BST amid thunderstorms expected.
“We’re not looking at damage limitation,” Russell said. “I just go there to maximize the result.
“It was the same in the sprint. Tomorrow will be a different day because the weather will change, but at the start of the race I realized once again that everything can change in the first few hundred meters.”
“George will be annoyed.”
Sky Sports F1’s Naomi Schiff said Russell would be “frustrated” by finishing behind Antonelli in three consecutive qualifying sessions.
Reacting to Russell’s comments, Schiff said, “The worst thing is that his teammate is opening the gap even further and getting out session after session and being faster than him.”
“And whether it’s a driving style issue or not, if he gets into a head-to-head with a teammate, he has to be better than him every time he goes there. He might get swayed again, but obviously George will be frustrated by that.”
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Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli recovered from a difficult sprint to score his third consecutive Grand Prix pole position with a dominant lap in Miami. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen moved up to second on the grid, but still had a lead of more than 10 seconds.
“George is a great driver and he won’t like this situation, but there’s a long season ahead. He’s got stability. Obviously he’s not on pace this weekend, but he’s always going to be there and always going to score points.”
Sky Sports’ F1 pundit and former world champion Jenson Button added: “It’s really difficult when you’re a precision driver to slide into a corner and not be able to pick the apex or exit the way you want.”
“And it’s even worse here because there are other teams that are competitive. He’s got McLaren in front, Ferrari and Max in Red Bull.”
Antonelli: I was satisfied with my rap.
Antonelli admitted he made too many mistakes during the sprint, but said he was “happy” with the lap that took him pole position.
In fact, the decisive attack was the first of Antonelli’s two flying lap attempts in Q3, the second of which was blown off by a mistake in the first corner.
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Kimi Antonelli said he was happy to take pole position in Miami after battling harsh weather and wind throughout the weekend.
Antonelli told Sky Sports F1: “This weekend was not easy. It’s very hot, the track is very slippery and this track is not easy to put all the sectors together.
“I think I was happy with my lap. Maybe I could have had a little more room, but I don’t know because I didn’t go around any corners.”
“I’m happy with the performance. It was a little difficult for us, especially this weekend because the other teams brought big upgrades, but the team did a great job.”
Sky Sports F1 Miami GP Schedule
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The Miami Grand Prix is a unique experience. Check out some of our favorite moments from the past few years.
Sunday, May 3rd
2:25pm: F2 Feature Race
4pm: Miami GP Build-up: Grand Prix Sunday
6pm: Miami Grand Prix*
8pm: Miami GP reaction: Checkered flag*
9pm: Ted’s Notes*
*Also held at Sky Sports Main Event
F1 will resume the 2026 season in Miami. Watch the Grand Prix live on Sky Sports F1 from 6pm on Sunday. Stream Sky Sports now – cancel anytime with no contract
