‘Feels like we are not up there’

Max Verstappen puts his Red Bull car through the paces during the second practice session at Albert Park, Melbourne, yesterday. Pic/AFP

Max Verstappen said on Friday that he struggled with tyre grip during the second practice session for the Australian Grand Prix after finishing a lowly seventh, but was heartened by the pace of his Red Bull.

The four-time World Champion was more than half a second slower than pace-setter Charles Leclerc and completed 10 fewer laps than the Ferrari driver at Albert Park. He flirted with the gravel on occasion and said the set-up was not quite right ahead of the season-opener in Melbourne.

"Today the grip wasn't great and we were struggling on all four tyres, particularly in sector one and in the final sector," Verstappen said.

"It feels like we are not up there at the moment, but we will work to find more pace. There are no major balance issues, so I think this makes things a bit harder to fix. But this isn't anything that we didn't expect when we arrived here," he added.

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The Dutchman claimed his fourth straight world title with two races to spare last year and is now bidding to join only Michael Schumacher by winning five in a row.

Despite his gripes with the car's traction, he saw some positives on day one.

"Positively, I think we were surprised with the pace that the car showed. Historically we have not been that good here in Melbourne since the new tarmac update so will see how we go over the weekend. However, we will continue to work to find a bit more pace ahead of qualifying," the Dutchman said.

His new team-mate, Liam Lawson, fared a lot worse, finishing 16th and 17th in the two practice sessions respectively.

Hamilton still getting to grips with Ferrari

Lewis Hamilton said on Friday that his first competitive day in a Ferrari had been "completely different" from what he was used to at Mercedes, but he is relishing trying to squeeze out more pace at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.

Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton

The Briton was in the Ferrari cockpit for the first time at a grand prix, finishing fifth in second practice after coming 12th in the opening session. "It's been a learning day as I continue to understand and get to grips with the new car," said Hamilton.

"Everything is so completely different from what I've been used to for so long, but that's the challenge and I'm embracing it. We were not completely satisfied with Free Practice 1 but we made some good progress in Free Practice 2 which was important," he added.

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