Antonelli did not optimize "any of my laps on the softest compound"

After a tough opening day at the Austrian Grand Prix, Mercedes driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli reckoned that he failed to optimize his low-fuel laps on Pirelli's softest compound.

Mercedes had an impressive opening session at the Austrian Grand Prix. George Russell managed to carry over his fine form from Montreal to dominate the one-hour session, setting the benchmark both on the hard and the soft compound.

However, the Brackley-based squad endured a slight setback in the second one-hour session as Russell only managed to set the sixth quickest time while his team-mate Andrea Kimi Antonelli finished outside the top ten in P11.

Commenting on his opening day at the Red Bull Ring, Antonelli noted: "It was a pretty tricky day overall but still a positive one with lots of learnings. I was feeling good at the start of both FP1 and FP2 but the track being this short, it’s always a challenge to get a good single lap.

"I didn’t feel that I optimised any of my laps on the softest compound, making a few mistakes here or there. I will focus on improving that in FP3, so I am ready heading into Qualifying.

"My long runs were more promising, though. Our pace looked decent throughout and the overall balance of the car felt good. We know that a circuit with tarmac that is as abrasive as it is here usually makes our life difficult. Hopefully the recent steps we have taken with the W16 will have helped in this area, but we will only know come the Grand Prix on Sunday.

"For now, we know which areas we need to work on overnight and hopefully can take another step forward with the car as we head into the weekend," concluded Antonelli.