'Ferrari aren't as quick as we expected in Japan'

According to Dr Helmut Marko, advisor at Aston Martin Red Bull Racing, Ferrari aren't as quick as expected in Suzuka, with the Italian team having set the pace in all races so far after the summer break.

Both Sebastian Vettel as well as Charles Leclerc couldn't beat either Mercedes on Friday, with the Silver Arrows setting the pace in both FP1 and FP2 with a Valtteri Bottas-led one-two.

As Ferrari have grabbed all four pole positions since the summer break, this came as a bit of a surprise, with Vettel and Leclerc finishing around a second slower than Bottas in FP1. Max Verstappen beat both SF90's to P3 in FP2 as well, and with no more running until qualifying on Sunday morning, it could mean bad things if you're a Ferrari fan.

"Mercedes still have something extra compared to us, on long runs in particular we're lagging behind," the 76-year-old Marko told Austrian news outlet ORF.

"We have to come up with something to bridge that gap."

Speaking on Ferrari, the Austrian was surprised that the Italian works team weren't more competitive at Suzuka.

"They aren't as quick as we were expecting," he concluded.