Max Verstappen enjoyed an imperious opening day’s practice for the season opening Bahrain Grand Prix on Friday, but admitted he was checking his mirrors for the much-improved Ferraris.
The world champion topped the times in the second floodlit session, but was only 0.087 seconds clear of second-placed rival Charles Leclerc in the leading Ferrari with team-mate Carlos Sainz third just behind him.
“It was very good and the car felt good,” said the Dutchman.
“But you can see that Ferrari are pushing hard and they are very close so that’s exciting as well.
“We will have to wait and see a little bit to know really, but tomorrow we will really see where we are. For me, it felt alright. We tried a few things on the car—and everything seemed to work well — so it was actually a straightforward and smooth day.”