Verstappen unsure: "Mercedes seems very fast on softs"

Max Verstappen finished on top in the first free practice, but in the afternoon session, he had to settle for third place. Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas were faster on behalf of Mercedes. Afterwards, Verstappen said he was confident of a good result at the Red Bull Ring this weekend. Verstappen can win for the fourth time in Austria.

"Mercedes seems very fast on the soft tyre," Verstappen told his own official website. Like Helmut Marko, the 23-year-old Dutchman knows that there is still some room for improvement on the red compound. "From our side, the run on the soft tyre was not perfect, nevertheless I felt good in the car, and everything feels pretty good."

Verstappen satisfied with long runs

Friday's sessions went without any major issues. "There are no real issues so we just need to make sure we find some more speed on the softs, because I think we are looking good on the mediums and also in the long runs it is looking good, and that is the most important thing in the end," he explained.

The difference with Mercedes last week was two tenths on Saturday. Will that lead remain intact a week later? "It will be exciting, Mercedes has become stronger, we will see during qualifying tomorrow. The most important thing is to make sure the softer compounds hold up during the race, that will be a challenge," Verstappen concludes.