George Russell: Trying Kimi Antonelli’s Mercedes F1 car changes "made a bigger impact than I thought"

Russell used a set-up closer to Antonelli’s with his Mercedes F1 car for the final laps of the Miami GP and it paid off

Having struggled to click with the Miami circuit all weekend, George Russell said he made “big changes” to his Mercedes Formula 1 car's differential and brake bias as used by Kimi Antonelli, which “made a bigger impact than I thought”.

The British driver was a step behind team-mate Antonelli for the majority of the Miami GP weekend, as the Italian powered to a third straight victory while Russell’s late recovery netted him fourth place.

Russell was open about being unable to find a rhythm with the Miami International Autodrome during the race weekend, explaining it wasn’t a track layout or surface that suited his driving style.

The 28-year-old, who had dropped to sixth with 20 laps to go, explained he made differential and brake bias tweaks in the closing stages to come closer to what Antonelli had used with his Mercedes and was impressed by its impact.

“A difficult race,” Russell summed up to Sky Sports F1. “The beginning felt okay to be honest, those early laps, in the fight and then the hard tyre was just nowhere and got some ideas to be honest.

George Russell, Mercedes

Photo by: James Sutton / Formula 1 / Formula Motorsport Ltd via Getty Images

“The last 10 laps were much more competitive, made some quite big changes with my differentials and my brake bias, much closer to what Kimi has been running this whole weekend and it made a bigger impact than I thought, but still, as I said, not a good weekend.

“I know this place is always a real tough one for me.”

Russell’s damage-limiting fourth place, coupled with taking two points out of Antonelli’s lead in the Miami sprint race, means he trails the Italian by 20 points after the opening four rounds, and the British driver was quick to heap praise on Antonelli as the pair look set for an all-Mercedes title fight.

“He's a fantastic driver, he's been exceptionally quick since day one, you don't win all of the championships as a youngster if you don't have the speed,” Russell said.

“I've still got the confidence in myself and I've also been there, I've not forgotten how to drive and it's just a little bit of a tricky run, but with four races down, a long way to go and, as I said, we'll reassess things over these next few weeks.”