Red Bull one-two on Friday raises chances of close Spa battle
Monday 29 August 2016 10:40, UK
Max Verstappen believes Friday pacesetters Red Bull can get better around the Spa-Francorchamps circuit, but need to "wait and see" whether they can truly challenge Mercedes.
For the first time since May's Monaco GP, F1's world champions did not top a Practice Two session with Verstappen instead leading a one-two for Red Bull. Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton finished sixth and 13th respectively as Mercedes chose to use the slower two tyres only in the afternoon.
Red Bull's chances of beating Mercedes for just the second time this year are already boosted by the fact Hamilton will start from the back row after picking up what stands as a 30-place penalty for breaching engine limits.
Nonetheless, Verstappen was not fooled by Mercedes' P2 pace and is expecting them to remain their usual force.
"They will be very competitive," he told Sky Sports F1. "We will see what happens.
"We can definitely improve even more. We have to wait and see what they do, but so far we have had a very good Friday and a very good start to the weekend."
With the penalised Hamilton unlikely to be in the battle for victory, Verstappen was asked whether Sunday represented Red Bull's best chance of winning since his triumph at the Spanish GP three months ago.
"Difficult to say yet, I don't know where they are," he replied. "If we are very close, then yes, but they will be very competitive and some other teams are very competitive. So we have to wait and see."
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Mercedes' decision not to use the supersoft tyres in second practice meant a direct comparison with Red Bull on low fuel was not possible. However, Rosberg's fastest time on the compound from P1, set when he had the Halo device attached to his car, stood as the second quickest of Friday despite the usual improvements in track grip.
An influx of Dutch fans are set to boost attendance figures in Belgium and Verstappen was thrilled to see so many of his countrymen already in the grandstands on Friday.
"Very happy to be first here in front of the fans," he said. "When I crossed the line I could see the fans cheering me on with the flags, it just gives you a lot of motivation.
"It was quite a difficult day because the circuit's not easy to set up the car, so the first practice, and even in the beginning of the second one, you are working a lot on that. But luckily it paid off at the end."
