George Russell admitted he was surprised by McLaren and Ferrari’s gains at the Miami Grand Prix.
The Mercedes driver will start the Sprint race in sixth, ahead of Lewis Hamilton but behind both McLarens and his team-mate Kimi Antonelli.
Despite admitting he didn’t expect Mercedes’ rivals to be as quick, he insisted he isn’t too worried yet ahead of qualifying later today and the Grand Prix on Sunday.
“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.”
On his own issues, he said: “I was just overheating my 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, just being quite surprised by the progress of the others. But another day tomorrow.”