Mat Coch writes

Red Bull is the third fastest team in Formula One according to Max Verstappen, who believes both Mercedes and Ferrari currently have the Austrian squad covered.

Verstappen ended second practice sixth fastest, one spot behind team-mate Daniel Ricciardo but a second off the pace set by Lewis Hamilton.

"Mercedes is very quick and then I think Ferrari should be the second team at the moment," Verstappen suggested after the opening day's running. "We still need to do quite a lot of work to beat them but we'll see."

According to Ricciardo however the gap is not insurmountable. "Mercedes are quick but I didn't think they are insanely quick, but they are quicker than us," the Australian claimed.

"I think we can reel some of that advantage back," he added. "Pole would be a stretch but we can be in that next little group."

An off for Verstappen in second practice saw the Dutchman damage the floor on his car, which curtailed his running for the afternoon.

He was however impressed by the increased speed of the cars, with Lewis Hamilton's fastest time in second practice better than his pole position time around Albert Park this time last year. Verstappen only expects that pace to increase too as the temporary circuit picks up grip as the weekend wears on.

"It's quite a lot faster for the moment," he said. "Of course, here on a street circuit it always improves quite a lot, so I'm sure qualifying we will go even faster."

The true pace of the cars won't become apparent until the final phase of qualifying tomorrow afternoon, though Pirelli's Mario Isola has tipped times to dip into the 1:21 bracket.

Meanwhile, Verstappen is enjoying the increased speed: "It's a bit more enjoyable; a bit faster through the corners so that's always good for us."

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