Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes/3rd): Why he is suddenly chasing Russell

A tricky starting position for the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix, because a good grid position at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya is - we are amazed - statistically more important than in Monaco!

In the 35 Formula 1 races held here so far, the winner has started from the front row 32 times and from pole position 24 times. So it's going to be hard work for Antonelli to get anything from P3.

Astonishingly, the 19-year-old Italian will not be starting from the front row for the first time this season!

The Bolognese rider assesses his performance in Catalonia as follows: "It's been a difficult weekend for me so far, I just can't find the right feeling in the car."

"It's going much better than on Friday, but I'm still missing something today. I'm not happy. I'm not getting on with the car as well as I might be able to. Maybe I'm driving too aggressively on this track. I also had a bad slide on my best lap."

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"All in all, I'm not travelling at the speed I'm used to this weekend. I didn't have any clean practice sessions, which meant that I wasn't able to learn everything about the behaviour of the tyres."

"At the start, I will have to try to make up ground on the long run to the first corner. The slipstream will be even more important than usual because we can only activate the active aerodynamics later. Then I'll try to do everything right tactically and maybe move up that way. But it will be a long race, especially difficult from a tyre perspective."

Why is Russell stronger than Antonelli here? Formula 1 champion Jacques Villeneuve has a theory: "I've noticed this a few times - how completely different the driving styles of Antonelli and Russell are."

"Kimi drives the Formula 1 car like a go-kart, with a stiff front axle and a very soft rear end, plus brutal understeer. He brakes incredibly late and turns in crisply, but then the car doesn't break away from him, which is what the car should actually do, but with the electrical energy he manages to get out of the corner. That all fits less well on this track than in Montreal or Monaco. Russell drives much smoother and softer, and that pays off here in Spain."