"Qualifying has been a bit weak," claims Antonelli as he reflects on the start to his F1 career

Having secured his first podium finish at the Canadian Grand Prix, Mercedes driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli has admitted that his qualifying peformance "has been a bit weak" in the opening stages of his rookie season.

Mercedes had looked to struggle for pace at the start of the Budapest weekend with their W16 that featured the previous-specification rear suspension.

However, George Russell went on to secure fourth place on the grid on Saturday, albeit his rookie team-mate Andrea Kimi Antonelli failed to qualify higher than P14.

At the start of the 70-lap Mogyoród race, Russell was opportunistic, picking off Lando Norris to run third. Although he had appeared to finish in fourth place, he managed to pick off Charles Leclerc after the Monegasue battled through technical issues. In the end, Russell finished third to claim his first podium finish since his dominant victory at the Canadian Grand Prix.

His team-mate Antonelli made up several positions at the start. The Bologna-born then committed himself to a one-stop strategy, and he racked up 48 laps on the same set of hards to finish tenth in Mogyoród, picking up a solitary point.

Asked to offer his assessment of how it's gone for him and Mercedes so far in his debut season at the pinnacle of motorsport, Antonelli stated: "It's been challenging. I've had some highs and quite a few lows. I think the European season hasn't gone very well— I think it’s gone pretty badly.

"A few mistakes on my side and then we had a couple of issues as well. I'm still trying to learn a lot and gather all the information because sometimes, especially when you have back-to-back races, it's a bit difficult to put all the information that you get over a weekend together and try to put what you learn on track right after.

"So, it's been a bit challenging. Also, on my side, I think qualifying has been a bit weak, but it's more for me about trying to put it all together, especially when you get to the point where you have to find the last couple of tenths, I think I’ve not been that good on trying to do the right step.

"Overall, it’s still been quite positive because I’ve been learning a lot and we’ve got some good results. But now the second half of the season is important to do the step and find more consistency myself.