Antonelli cautious of Spa threats after Mercedes' "massive turnaround" to top FP2

Kimi Antonelli hailed the "massive turnaround" to put Mercedes back in the game at the Belgian Grand Prix after the Italian topped second practice, but remained cautious about the looming threats from behind. 

Antonelli finished the opening session of the Spa-Francorchamps weekend in sixth place and over half a second behind pace-setting Max Verstappen. 

But on the qualifying simulations in the second session, the Italian, who was already ahead on medium tyres, found a second when switching to the soft rubber.

The only driver below the 1m46s marker, Antonelli headed the field, with Lando Norris, who had improved similarly between sessions for McLaren, second.

"It was a massive turnaround with the car because in FP1, we struggled a lot more than anticipated, so it was a good change," said Antonelli. 

"But of course, a lot of work to do because Red Bull is quick, McLaren was up there. So we just need to put things together. 

"The long run felt quite strong as well, but obviously, the car changed quite a bit between the two sessions. A lot of work to do overnight to be ready for tomorrow and Sunday.”

Blaming "over-sliding" for his problems in the opening session, Antonelli was caught out by a slowing Carlos Sainz on an early effort in the second session, with the Italian seen to gesticulate in the direction of the Williams driver. 

“He backed off out of a fast corner," he explained. "You exit in seventh gear and I had to abort, and it was quite risky, so of course, I was not happy about it. What I said, probably in the heat of the moment, is not the best, but it was quite a dangerous moment.”

Mercedes defend Russell's pace deficit

George Russell was unable to match his team-mate's improvement in the second session, something that was also seen at Silverstone last time out, with only a reliability problem for Antonelli making the result look more favourable.

But Mercedes is not overly worried about the difference of over a second between the drivers, with Mercedes trackside engineering director, Andrew Shovlin, explaining: "It was not a great lap for George, but it was only one lap, so if that doesn't go well, you look like you're off the pace.

"But he felt he didn't have the tyres ready for the start of the lap, which leaves a bit of a loss. There are a few corners where it looks like he might have underestimated the grip level, but given the first session that we had, that's not a big surprise. 

"There are bits for him to work on, but, as I said, we can see a lot of it in the data that we'll be chasing, and I'm pretty sure he'll be there tomorrow."