George Russell has described the leap forward made by McLaren and Ferrari as "pretty damn impressive" after delivering their new Miami upgrades.
Both teams delivered huge packages to Miami, with Ferrari fielding a field-high 11 upgrades, including its 'Macarena' rear wing and were in the fight for Sprint pole position, ultimately won by McLaren's Lando Norris with Oscar Piastri third and Charles Leclerc of Ferrari in fourth.
Russell's team-mate Kimi Antonelli secured P2 on the grid with the final lap of SQ3, but the Briton was only sixth faster, even behind the Red Bull of Max Verstappen.
Mercedes' own big upgrade is not set to be delivered until the Canadian Grand Prix next time out, with Russell taken aback by the newfound speed of Mercedes' rivals.
"It is pretty surprising how big a jump McLaren and Ferrari have made," Russell explained.
"So that is pretty damn impressive, we knew they'd probably close the gap, but they're quicker than us, and my side were struggling.
"Miami is not a track I love to be honest, especially in these hotter conditions.
"I was overheating the tyres a lot in the twisty middle section and struggling to get the right balance with the car, and was quite surprised by the progress of the others.
"I'm not in a great starting position, Sprint races generally don't offer that much, and hopefully when I get off the line, I don't lose any more positions and see what we can do."
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