Verstappen still has question marks: "Difficult to estimate where we are".
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Max Verstappen was very close to Charles Leclerc's time in the first free practice session, but later in the afternoon he had to concede more than half a second to Ferrari. The Dutchman is not entirely satisfied and knows there is a lot of work for Red Bull Racing to do ahead of qualifying.
"I think FP2 was more difficult for us, we didn't get the balance like we hoped for. We will try to be closer than we were today," Verstappen began to tell Sky Sports.
In terms of the long runs, things were looking up for the reigning world champion. He was able to put a competitive level on the mat, but the conditions are difficult. It will be no different in Sunday's race. "Long run is better but the Tyres are running hot and difficult to judge where we are. "Overall this track is hard on the tyres anyway."
There is still time for Red Bull
Verstappen believes Red Bull can still close the gap on Ferrari, but says he's glad there is still a third free practice session on the schedule. All the learnings from today can then be applied to close the gap to Leclerc and Carlos Sainz.
What plays into Red Bull's hands is the fact that Sainz has received a ten place grid penalty this weekend. Sainz will therefore start from a maximum of eleventh place in France. Either way, Red Bull will want to win and to beat Leclerc (at least) they really need to find some speed in the RB18 over the next 24 hours.