Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli has spoken out about the support he has received from Formula 1 champions Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen.

The 19-year-old driver, in his second year in the championship, currently leads the drivers' championship by 66 points over Hamilton. His dominant start to the season, which has included five consecutive grand prix victories, has placed him firmly in the championship fight.

Speaking during the drivers' press conference in Barcelona, Antonelli was asked whether Hamilton and Verstappen had offered any specific tips on how to beat his experienced team-mate George Russell, and was also asked about their support in general.

"No, we haven't talked specifically about that. Well, Max, his latest advice was to wait for the red light to go off and wait one second," he joked. "Then unfortunately, yeah, he had the PU issue, but that was his latest advice, which obviously was a joke.

"But no, we haven't talked specifically about that. We talk about a lot of stuff, but not so much about that. He just said to keep doing what I'm doing, keep enjoying, keep being myself, and then the results will come.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes, Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

"It's been many drivers, but also, as we're talking specifically about Max and Lewis, they've been very kind as well since I've joined the sport, and they seem to be very supportive as well.

"It's great to see, it's great to witness on my side. But they also don't want to, I mean, we're still competitors at the end of the day, so you still don't want to give too much advice. But yeah, it's been fun, the relationship with them."

After winning the Chinese, Japanese, Miami, Canadian and Monaco Grands Prix, Antonelli leads the championship. Hamilton overtook Russell for second in Monaco and sits 66 points behind the Italian. Russell follows in third, two points behind his former team-mate.

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Fernando Alonso has conceded that this weekend's Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix will likely mark his final Formula 1 race at the circuit.

Speaking during the drivers' press conference, the 44-year-old acknowledged his fans' unwavering support while also dropping a hint regarding his retirement.

"It's going to be a special weekend, probably my last Barcelona race in Formula 1," he said.

"So, I want to say thanks to everyone. I will try to enjoy the weekend. I will not be competitive and I will not be too long in the car in qualifying, and in the race, hopefully yes, but not at the pace that we all want. But I want everyone to still enjoy the weekend.

"It has always been a celebration when they come to Barcelona. I think it's my 23rd Spanish Grand Prix, and all of them have been magical. And this last has to be magical as well."

When asked if it was difficult to think about this as his last race in Barcelona, the Spaniard explained that the hardest part was not being competitive. Alonso picked up Aston Martin's first point of the 2026 season with a 10th-place finish at the Monaco Grand Prix.

The Silverstone outfit has faced major issues during 2026, despite its new power unit partnership with Honda and its car being the first designed under the leadership of Adrian Newey.

Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin Racing

"No, I mean, it's not hard. For me, the hardest thing is not to win races and not to be competitive. If it's the last or not the last, it's not affecting too much," Alonso added.

"I'm at peace with my career and with my life, and if anything comes now, welcome. If it doesn't come, it will not change my feeling. I achieved a lot more than I ever dreamt when I was a kid, or I was here, as we said again, my first test here or my go-kart experience when I was racing in Spain. I never dreamt to be a Formula 1 driver and then race for the best teams in the paddock and stay for a very long time.

"So, everything is a plus. It is a plus now. I'm not as competitive as we all want to be in the team now, and that's probably the biggest pain that we go through every weekend. But in terms of personal feeling, it's not too hard, or it's not anything."

Alonso has not officially announced his retirement yet, and with no Barcelona race in 2027, it is still unclear as to whether he may retire at the end of this season or next.

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Charles Leclerc has opted for a technical direction similar to Lewis Hamilton for this weekend's Formula 1 Barcelona Grand Prix after his frustrations in Monaco.

The Ferrari driver crashed out of his home race last weekend with 14 laps remaining, going into the barrier at the final corner while running in third.

Leclerc was furious after the race having lost his chance of the podium and the 28-year-old later revealed that a technical issue on the SF-26 was behind his crash.

"I'm not even going to take the blame," he said. "Out of the four brakes, I had three brakes not working. So in a Formula 1 car, it's never a good thing.

"The front left was working well, the front right was half working, and the two rear brakes were not working at all. And when I say at all, it's that on data, there's no deceleration at all. It's like the calipers were not even in the car."

Leclerc later described it as a "nightmare", but Ferrari had already identified a solution and that was to use the same brake configuration on team-mate Hamilton's car.

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari

The seven-time world champion has been using Carbon Industrie brake discs and pads, as opposed to the Brembo configuration for Leclerc which he's been having trouble with for some time.

So for this weekend's Barcelona Grand Prix, Leclerc will test the Carbon Industrie set-up for FP1 before deciding whether to stick or twist for the rest of the sessions. 

It all simply comes down to driver preference and not whether one is better than the other, as there are those who would never give up on Brembo discs compared to those who've relied on Carbon Industrie. 

So it'll be a fascinating development to watch as Leclerc attempts to overcome his recent poor form, scoring zero podiums since the Japanese Grand Prix in March.

That has seen him slip to fourth in the championship and behind Hamilton, who has claimed consecutive runner-up finishes during a rejuvenated 2026. 

Five things to look out for at the F1 Barcelona GP

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