De Vries encouraged after 'positive step forward' in Barcelona

Nyck de Vries has hailed the Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix as a "positive step forward" following a tough start to the season.

Speculation mounted over the Dutchman's future at AlphaTauri in May, with Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko stating that de Vries was on a "yellow card" following some disappointing results.

However, his performance at the Monaco Grand Prix earned praise from Marko, and de Vries went on to have a similarly solid weekend in Barcelona, despite ending the race outside of the points in P14.

De Vries pleased with 'step forward'

Reflecting back on the event, de Vries was left ruing time lost during the opening stages of the race.

"On Lap 1, I lost so much ground," he told media, including RacingNews365.com.

"I had a good start, but the whole inside line kind of got caught out, and the whole outside gained a lot of positions. I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

"Then you're three positions back, you're in a DRS train at the beginning and then I felt kind of stuck. We tried to undercut and I was constantly fighting with Kevin [Magnussen], not really being able to get past. Their straight-line speed was very, very strong.

"So it was a bit frustrating that I lost too much ground in the beginning of the race, basically.

"On the Medium [tyre], I felt very good, we had very good pace and it was a solid stint to the end, so there were some good bits during the race.

"The beginning was just a shame but, overall, I think as a weekend it's been another positive step forward."

Encouraging signs for AlphaTauri

When asked if the weekend felt like a missed opportunity to score his first points of the year, de Vries explained: "Every weekend is an opportunity so, if we didn't score points, then of course it's a missed opportunity."

However, the 28-year-old is taking the positives ahead of the next race on the calendar, the Canadian Grand Prix.

"I think the past two weekends have been encouraging," de Vries said.

"Obviously, we are going to such different tracks all the time that you need a quite all-round package. Canada will be a bit different, but [it's] been a good past two weeks and I hope we can continue to build on this and put ourselves in a position [where] we can capitalise on every opportunity."

On whether his performance in Barcelona had been a good step for his own confidence, de Vries added: "Definitely. Of course, there are always plenty of things that I would have liked to have done better.

"I felt like, [on Saturday], we definitely had more pace to fight for a better position, but that's racing. I think that the key is to be more consistent there and to be globally more competitive, and then those things will come."