Is Ferrari really the faster car at the Albert Park circuit? During the second free practice session, Max Verstappen faced a setback as his car took a hit when he ran over the sharp kerbs at the exit of turn 10, causing damage to the floor. The consequence? Verstappen and Red Bull fell behind on their planned schedule for the day, missing out on the initial 25 minutes of the running and the Dutchman ended up behind the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc in the timing charts by almost 4 tenths of a second. However, Verstappen has made it clear that they have not yet been able to extract the full potential from the RB20 and there’s plenty more to come from his side of the garage.

Verstappen explained to Sky Sports that his trouble started during the first free practice session when he damaged the floor and chassis of his car. This damage took some time to repair, costing him valuable track time, with the reigning world champion and his teammate Sergio Perez managing only eight laps combined.

Despite the setback, Verstappen praised Red Bull for how they handled the situation, allowing him to mostly complete his planned program for the day. However, he also acknowledged that he would have liked a few more laps, especially for long-run simulations. “Long run I would have liked maybe a few more laps but with missing 20 minutes, that’s how it goes. I think it was alright,” Max was quoted by Crash.net. Meanwhile, Ferrari showed impressive performance, especially with Charles Leclerc consistently setting quick times both on single laps and during long-run simulations

Verstappen added, “I think Ferrari is quick but I think from our side, there are also a few more things that we can fine-tune. So nothing crazy, nothing worrying, I think we just need to fine-tune a little bit the car.”

After topping the timing chart in Free Practice 1, Lando Norris has predicted that the Ferrari might be the strongest car in the Australian Grand Prix.

Lando Norris thinks Charles Leclerc could beat Max Verstappen for pole position

In a statement following the free practice session, Lando Norris spoke about who might claim the pole position come the qualifying session on Saturday. Despite Verstappen facing setbacks, including a damaged floor that required replacement, which cost him track time, Norris thinks that Ferrari has the better car in Australia.

According to the McLaren driver’s predictions, either of the Ferrari drivers could be on pole position in Australia, with Charles Leclerc being the favorite according to the Brit. Norris also explained the situation at McLaren, suggesting that both Ferrari and Red Bull seem to have a significant advantage over the papaya team, with even Aston Martin posing a challenge.

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