George Russell found himself trailing behind Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli at the Miami Grand Prix, calling it an 'outlier weekend'. Despite his struggles, Russell managed a fourth-place finish but remains 20 points adrift in the championship standings.
George Russell had a weekend to forget at the Miami Grand Prix, finishing a distant fourth and conceding more ground to his Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli in the championship race. Russell, who was 43 seconds adrift of race winner Antonelli, described the event as 'clearly an outlier weekend for me'. He struggled with pace throughout the 57-lap race, as well as during qualifying and the sprint. Despite these challenges, Russell managed a late-race overtake on Max Verstappen and a last-lap move on Charles Leclerc to climb from his starting position of fifth to fourth. However, this result leaves him 20 points behind the sophomore Antonelli after just four rounds.
Russell candidly admitted, "I don't really know to be honest," when asked if fourth place was a satisfactory result given his performance issues. He added, "It's a funny old place and it's been a funny old weekend, so I'm very glad to see the end of it and just looking forward to getting into more traditional circuits."
Mercedes entered this season with high expectations under the new 2026 regulations, and many anticipated Russell would lead the charge, especially against his less experienced teammate. Yet, Antonelli has taken three consecutive pole positions and victories, leaving Russell to reflect on the small details that have seen him fall behind. "It's obviously a little bit frustrating, but I think over the course of a year that's always going to be the case at certain points," Russell said.
Russell remains optimistic, recalling his performances earlier in the season. "Australia I was quickest, pole and win. China I had the pace, won the Sprint, pole in that and had the issue in Qualifying. Japan also had the potential for victory without the unfortunate timing of a Safety Car," he noted. "The smallest of differences, I could be standing here saying okay Miami is a one-off and this is my first bad weekend of the season. Unfortunately, it's not, but that's the way the game goes and its swings and roundabouts."