Jaime Alguersuari’s was a lone voice in Barcelona when he praised the new ‘super hard’ tyre compound supplied by Pirelli.
Lewis Hamilton had slammed the tyre – designed to degrade less quickly by offering less grip – as a “disaster”, while Fernando Alonso refused to comment.

But Barcelona local Alguersuari, at the wheel of the Toro Rosso, was happy.

“We ran a long stint with the super hard tyres and I had never been so consistent with so little degradation, which is a step forward,” he is quoted by EFE news agency.

“I think the main problems we have had were with the tyres and I found myself running more comfortably and faster,” added Alguersuari.

The angry Hamilton had said his McLaren was up to 2.5 seconds slower per lap on the super-hard compared to the alternate soft compound, but Alguersuari said the difference was much less.

“I had a good feeling,” he continued. “You have less grip, but it’s easier to drive. I’d never done a race simulation with 130 kilos of petrol over 15 laps with the same rhythm.”