Max Verstappen hopes pole is within reach after splitting Mercedes in Emilia Romagna Grand Prix practice.

The Red Bull driver had topped the times early on during the single 90-minute session before qualifying at Imola, only for Lewis Hamilton to got three-tenths clear with his last flying lap.

Of course, the limited running means the true gap between the leaders is still somewhat unknown, but based on the initial impressions, Verstappen is upbeat.

“It’s hard to beat them [Mercedes] but we are not too far away. Hopefully, it will be the same in qualifying," he told Formula1.com.

“It was alright, [a] good start, the car felt good, so that helps a lot and the track is very enjoyable to drive so very happy with that. So we have to see what we have to do for quali, but no major problems.”

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Since F1 last visited Imola back in 2006, the cars have become much bigger, but Verstappen was surprised by just how nimble the RB16 was.

“Yeah it’s really nice, I really enjoy it,” said the Dutchman. “I thought it was going to be a bit too narrow for F1 but it’s fine once you drive it – it’s good to be back.”

Across the garage, it was a different story as Alex Albon ended a second behind Verstappen in ninth after complaining of a lack of grip in his Red Bull.

However, the Thai driver doubts his problems can't be overcome.

“It’s a bit more fine-tuning – you don’t want to do anything crazy – there’s definitely some things I want to sort out, but yeah, it won't be drastic,” he explained. “The car feels good; it will be interesting to see what happens."

Albon also suggested there could be a repeat of last weekend in terms of uncertainty over which tyre is the fastest.

"It feels like Portimao. It will be interesting to see, soft or mediums, what comes out on top,” he added.