George Russell made significant tweaks to his Mercedes F1 car during the final laps of the Miami Grand Prix, adopting settings closer to those used by teammate Kimi Antonelli. The changes helped him climb to fourth place after struggling earlier in the race. Antonelli secured a third straight victory at the Miami International Autodrome.
Russell, who had dropped to sixth place with 20 laps remaining, adjusted his car's differential and brake bias to match Antonelli's setup. These modifications proved more effective than expected, boosting his competitiveness in the closing stages despite a challenging weekend at the track that does not suit his driving style well. He finished fourth, limiting the damage while Antonelli took the win and extended his championship lead to 20 points after four rounds, including points from the Miami sprint race. Russell also narrowed the gap slightly by scoring in the sprint. Russell described the race to Sky Sports F1 as difficult, noting the early laps felt okay but the hard tyre stint was poor. “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,” he said. He added that Miami has always been tough for him. Despite trailing in the standings, Russell praised Antonelli's talent. “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 remarked. He expressed confidence in his abilities, stating there is a long season ahead with time to reassess.
