By Robert Haile

Mercedes have secured their best finish of the season as Lewis Hamilton and George Russell finish second and third in the Spanish Grand Prix.

After qualifying Hamilton was on the second row in fourth and Russell was starting out of the points in twelfth with both drivers started on the soft compound tyres.

At the start Hamilton maintained his position moving into third within the first 10 laps before pitting on lap 24 for medium tyres.

Using the race pace the Mercedes had Hamilton moved up into second and after pitting for soft tyres on lap 50 finished the race behind World Champion Max Verstappen.

Second placed Hamilton said “I am so happy after today. I didn’t expect us to come here this weekend and finish second. I was able to keep everything under control today.

“We couldn’t keep up with the Red Bull of Max (Verstappen) as they are in another league, but this is still a really positive result. For George to come through from P12 to P3 is also spectacular.

“I feel incredibly grateful to the whole Team, everyone back at the factory to Team LH all over the world who are always sticking by me.

“We are learning more and more about the car. I am hoping that the car continues to be like it was this weekend. I am hoping from here onwards we are in a good place.

“For sure, there will be some circuits where the car isn’t quite in the right window but hopefully the next few races should suit us.”

Russell from twelfth moved quickly through the grid and was soon up to seventh.

Pitting a lap earlier than his teammate on lap 24 for the medium tyres Russell then progressed through the field to sit in third.

A quick stop on lap 46 for soft tyres and Russell held onto third and maintained the gap to Sergio Perez in fourth to seal a double podium for Mercedes.

Third placed Russell said: “It was a pretty good race today. This morning, I had a lot of confidence that I could move forward from P12 and thought that P5 or P6 was achievable.

“After a good start, our pace was just there from the very beginning. We knew after Friday that we had good race pace, but you can never be 100 percent sure if it will translate to the Grand Prix.

“I was really pleased it did, I was able to make some good overtakes and bring it home on the podium. This result highlights all the hard work and efforts that have gone on at the factory to bring these upgrades.

“We had a strong race here last year, so the next couple of races will be key to see if we can consistently produce results like this and close the gap to Red Bull.”

With the double podium finish Mercedes move into second in the Constructors Championship behind Red Bull and ahead of Aston Martin and Ferrari.

While Hamilton and Russell sit fourth and fifth respectively in the Drivers Championship behind Verstappen, Perez and Fernando Alonso.

Formula 1 now takes a break before heading to the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, Montréal for the Canadian Grand Prix on June 16-18.