Max Verstappen admitted that he and Red Bull need to make improvements after Friday practice sessions at the Circuit Paul Ricard.
Verstappen was unable to catch Ferrari on the opening day of the French GP. The Dutchman was 2nd in FP1 behind Charles Leclerc. He ended FP2 in P3 having been half a second slower than leader Carlos Sainz.
“I think FP2 was a little bit more difficult for us,” Verstappen reflected on the day.
“We just didn’t really get the balance like we hoped for, but also we were trying a few things with the cars so we’ll have a look at it all for tomorrow and try to be closer to where we were today.
“I think the long-run is a bit better but again, the tires are running really hot and it’s very difficult to judge where you are. We still have a little bit of work to do.”
At the same time, Verstappen noted that the tire issues were not similar to those he had had at the Austrian GP.
“I think overall this track is very hard on the tires anyway, so I think you cannot compare it to Austria.
“I think in general we all needed a few more laps to really have a good look at the long run.”
