Will Verstappen settle for third place? "Go claim my seat"

Max Verstappen was the fastest during the first free practice session but was behind in FP2. No less than seven-tenths. This was partly because he was delayed in his fast lap, but that is not the whole story according to Verstappen himself.

"It was okay. Nothing crazy," is the Dutchman's first reaction to Sky Sports. “Still a bit of work to do to try and close the gap to Mercedes they seem very strong again even though I didn't get a lap in on the soft compound. It's okay."

Verstappen is therefore moderately positive, although he seems to be accepting a bit of third place. "Today you are just exploring the limits and understanding how far you can go with the car. The soft for me was fine. I just encountered Sergio who was on a long run, so that was a bit unfortunate. Like the whole year [Mercedes ahead]. I am going to claim my seat again [P3 in press conference].