Antonelli admits he struggled to keep the tyres in good shape at Barcelona

F1 Grand Prix, GP Spain, Circuit de Catalunya

Despite intensive long-run simulations on Friday, Mercedes driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli has admitted that he has struggled to keep his tyres alive on the hot surface at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

Following a tough weekend at Monte Carlo, Mercedes looked very strong in qualifying at the Spanish Grand Prix. George Russell secured fourth place on the grid while his team-mate Andrea Kimi Antonelli qualified sixth.

The Briton might have expected to complete the same start that he had last year at Barcelona, but he endured different fortunes to what he achieved a year ago. Russell was picked off by Lewis Hamilton at Turn 1 before he was also overtaken by Charles Leclerc into Turn 5.

He then played the long game and managed to overtake his former team-mate with an undercut strategy. At the safety car restart, he was adamant to overtake Max Verstappen, as he dived down the inside into Turn 1 but made contact with the Dutchman.

Red Bull then instructed Verstappen to hand the place back to Russell following their scarp at Turn 1. With just three laps left to go, the Dutchman slowed down at Turn 5, and Russell completed the move on the outside, but the reigning champion appeared to speed back up again, leading to contact between the pair.

The four-time F1 champion would eventually let Russell through into Turn 11, and the Mercedes driver finished in P4.

His team-mate Antonelli looked on for points today despite losing out at the start as he ran wide, but his race ended in the gravel after an apparent Power unit issue for his second DNF in three races.

Reflecting on his day, the Italian noted: "I am disappointed with how today’s race went. It was a tricky Grand Prix with the hot temperatures impacting the tyres. Even though we did a lot of long run work in FP1 and FP2 on Friday, it was still a struggle to look after them and keep a decent pace.

"However, I still felt good in the car. I had good pace on the Medium tyres and I was putting in consistent lap times. It was therefore a shame to end the day with a DNF.

Signing off with a reflection on the last triple header, Antonelli noted: "Overall, it has been a difficult triple header for us. Now though we have some time to reset. I am really looking forward to heading to Montreal for my first Canadian Grand Prix. It is a different track and a different tarmac to here in Barcelona.

"We are also at the opposite end of the Pirelli range in terms of the compounds. We will take everything we have learned over the past three weeks, analyse and come back stronger in two weeks’ time."