Lewis Hamilton says it was a “kick in the gut” to see Mercedes’ form drop off after the opening practice session in Miami.
Mercedes took a 1-2 finish in FP1, with George Russell leading the field ahead of Hamilton.
However, a more challenging second practice outing followed, with Hamilton ending the session in seventh place.
Russell endured an even tougher session as he classified in 15th place.
Mercedes has started the 2023 campaign off the front-running pace, but is set to introduce major upgrades at the following round from Imola.
But having shown strong pace out of the gate in Miami, Hamilton admits he was disappointed to see its form fade in the evening session.
“It’s a great weekend, it’s a great place to be, lots of positives,” Hamilton said. “It’s just we’re not particularly quick.
“It’s a struggle out there. Just trying lots of different things. FP1 looks quite good and to come into FP2, and then the true pace came out, it’s just a kick in the gut.
“It’s difficult to take sometimes. But it’s OK. We’ll keep on working on it, and reboot tonight and try to make some setup changes and get the car in the sweet spot.”
Hamilton made his first podium appearance of the year in Melbourne, which marks his only top-three finish this year so far.
The seven-time World Champion says that the car balance in Miami feels a step backwards compared to previous rounds.
“Melbourne obviously was a night and day difference, much much nicer to drive there. Baku felt better than here also,” he said.
“I think maybe the heat [is behind the struggles], or maybe just the balance we have at the moment.
“So I’m going to stay optimistic, and I’m going to stay hopeful we can get the car in a better place tomorrow, and maybe be a couple of steps up.
“It feels like… last year we had hardcore bouncing, it generally feels like we’re reaching pretty much the same car. That’s the difficult thing.”
When asked where he expects to place in the field during qualifying, Hamilton replied: “I don’t have [an] expectation.
“I just hope that I can get it into a better place tomorrow. I hope we can be in Q3, and I hope we can be mid-bunch of that top 10, that would be great.”
