Verstappen not entirely happy with balance: 'Ferrari also looks strong'

Max Verstappen is getting ready for qualifying for the Bahrain Grand Prix. It looks like it's going to be in an exciting battle between Red Bull Racing and Ferrari, as Mercedes still seems to have a few too many problems. However, the Dutchman was not entirely satisfied during the third free practice session.

Verstappen drove an excellent third practice session and finished at the top of the timesheet with Charles Leclerc just behind him. According to Telegraph reporter Erik van Haren the Red Bull driver was still not completely satisfied with the balance of his RB18, however.

Speaking to Viaplay on Friday, Verstappen let it be known that he was happy with the longruns. During qualifying he takes Ferrari into account. "The shorter runs I find very difficult to say, I think Ferrari is also very strong there. In the longruns you can already see a bit more and it looks very strong there. I actually had very few problems."

Can Mercedes solve problems?

At the Mercedes team, however, things look different. The German team still had many problems on Friday. The porpoising problem did look better during the third free practice, but whether the team can compete for pole position remains to be seen. Verstappen expects Mercedes to be back there in the end.

"They have already won too much in recent years. It would be nice if they could have a harder time for once. It looks like they still have difficulties with the floor. I do think once they get that working, they will be back at it," Verstappen said.