Verstappen: "I feel ready"

It may have been a mixed week for Red Bull and Max Verstappen in Barcelona but the Dutchman has insisted he feels fully prepared when the proper racing returns with the Australian Grand Prix.

During the final day of pre-season testing, Verstappen set a best time in the afternoon of 1:16.269, enough for second place on the day. The Red Bull driver wasn't in the cockpit during the morning as Alex Albon took over responsibilities. 

The Honda engine appears to be making great progress and Verstappen will be hoping it holds up when racing returns in a few weeks in Melbourne which he believes he's ready for.

"Yeah I feel ready," Verstappen told the media, including GP Blog.

"We tried basically everything we wanted to try over all the days together so very pleased with that.

Verstappen had the chance to do some fast laps late in the day and he admitted it is much more fun than doing lots of laps.

"Everybody did that already before so we planned a bit of that so yeah it's a lot more fun to drive a car like that and of course all the time it's just a lot of laps in a row so it all seems to be working quite well.

"We weren't running the softest compound but still I think the balance of the car was good."