Red Bull were remaining optimistic despite a clear deficit to Ferrari during practice at the Monaco Grand Prix.
Max Verstappen was only fourth fastest in the second session after his confidence appeared to stall following a lock-up into Sainte Devote midway through FP1.
But while the reigning champion admitted he wasn’t totally happy with his car, the thrill of driving around Monte Carlo’s streets more than made up for it.
“We tried quite a few different things with our set-up today to see how the car is behaving,” Verstappen explained. “I was happier with the car in FP1 than in FP2.
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“The track feels different this year with the new cars. The cars are a bit heavier and slower and a bit more bumpy because they are stiffer. It’s still very hectic to drive around here.
“If we get a better balance we can attack the corners a bit more, then of course our lap times will improve.
“Compared to Ferrari we still need to find more pace, so now it’s all about fine-tuning and finding a better balance. I can’t wait for qualifying tomorrow.”
Teammate Sergio Perez sat third fastest but three-tenths back from the leading Ferraris, as local hero Charles Leclerc led both sessions.
“It’s really nice to be back driving in Monaco,” the Mexican commented. “It’s always fun out there [and] it’s been a good few sessions today for us.
We have a good base, now to find those tenths in Q3 ? #MonacoGP
Tenemos una buena base, a buscar las milésimas en Q3.#RedBullRacing pic.twitter.com/pf5EB5otuM
— Sergio Pérez (@SChecoPerez) May 27, 2022
“The long runs were a bit difficult with the traffic, I couldn’t do more than two laps consistently.
“All in all we seem to be lacking a bit compared to the Ferraris, they seem really strong,” he conceded. “We were a little surprised by the gap to them today – we were expecting a gap but not such a gap as we’ve seen today.
“It means there is plenty of work to do and we will see tomorrow, Q3 is when it matters.”
Equally, Red Bull boss Christian Horner hopes other factors will mean the gap to Ferrari closes when everyone goes flat out in qualifying.
“They’ve been showing a lot of speed,” he acknowledged. “We don’t know what energy and engine modes they’re running, obviously but they’re looking pretty racy … Let’s see if we can get anywhere near that time tomorrow.”