Antonelli: I've felt confident with the car this weekend

And while Antonelli was enjoying Miami International Autodrome despite having no previous experience with it, his teammate George Russell struggled for pace in the sister car and finished qualifying fifth fastest.

Speaking after qualifying in Mercedes' Saturday report, Antonelli said: "I've felt confident with the car throughout this weekend, and it was good to convert that into another strong qualifying result.

"I struggled a little bit in Q1 and Q2, not having as clean a run as I had in Sprint Qualifying yesterday. My last lap in Q3 was my best effort today, though. I was a little greedy in turn one, but the rest of the lap was quick. The gaps at the front are incredibly tight, and even a few hundredths can make a difference.

"I am happy with how my lap was, though, and P3 is a good place to be starting from for tomorrow's Grand Prix," the Italian Formula 1 rookie added.

And while qualifying was a positive affair for Antonelli, the Sprint Race was not, as he finished tenth but was classified seventh after penalties were handed to Max Verstappen, Liam Lawson, and Alex Albon, which was a disappointing result given he started from pole.

"The Sprint race was a little disappointing this morning," Antonelli reflected. "I lost several places at turn one and then was unfortunate with the contact with Verstappen in the pit lane.

"We had the opportunity and the pace to have a stronger result, but it was good to bounce back later in the day. We will be aiming to have a cleaner race tomorrow and see what we can do," he concluded.

As for Russell, he commented on his Saturday in Miami, saying: "Qualifying has been a strength of mine since the beginning of the season, but it has not clicked for me either yesterday or today.

"I am therefore relatively happy to take P5 on the grid for tomorrow because we know how tight the field is. To end up just under two tenths from pole is a bit of a surprise given the confidence I've been lacking on the single lap.

"The car is obviously quick as Kimi did another great job in Qualifying. I am really proud of how he has performed; he has been consistent, and we've got another chance to score some solid points for the team tomorrow. We will reset tonight, and I'll make sure I am performing at my best tomorrow.

"The Sprint was a little disappointing as we finished only one place ahead of where we started by virtue of a time penalty," Russell said of his Sprint Race. "We should have perhaps made the call to go to slicks earlier, and we could have gained a couple more positions.

"That said, the Grand Prix is where the big points are scored. It may be mixed weather conditions again, and we will be ready to take advantage of any opportunities that come our way," Russell concluded.

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff summed up his team's Saturday; he added: "We need to be pleased with the performances we put in during Qualifying today.

"Both drivers didn't have the perfect laps, so we could hypothetically talk about starting higher up on the grid; Kimi had a small mistake at turn one, and George had a snap of oversteer through turn seven.

"Nevertheless, we know it was going to be a tough ask to challenge the McLarens and Verstappen, so even though we're never going to be satisfied with P3 and P5, we can look forward to Sunday.

"The weather forecast for the race is mixed, and we wouldn't be unhappy with a few rain showers tomorrow," Wolff went on. "Our race pace isn't as strong as the McLarens in the hotter conditions, and both Verstappen and the Ferraris have shown in recent races how quick they can be in similar circumstances.

"It is an area we are working hard to improve on, and hopefully we can take a step forward in the upcoming races. For now, we will race hard tomorrow and see what we can do from the second and third rows of the grid," he concluded.