Verstappen expecting a lonely race on Sunday

"It was a fine Friday. We were able to finish our program. I am happy with that," Verstappen told his own website.

The fact he didn't manage to finish in the top-two today doesn't come as a surprise. "The gap to Mercedes is still big, but that was expected. You can't catch up in a couple of days."

With Pirelli's softer tyres Red Bull does face a challenge. A one-stopper seems out of the question. "The degradation is much bigger, so that's going to be interesting. I think a one-stopper is almost impossible, so I expect a lot of two-stops during the race," the eight-time race winner explained.

"I think it's going to be a lonely race again," he concludes.