Leclerc ’extremely strong’ in Melbourne - Marko

Max Verstappen may have a fight on his hands to win a third consecutive grand prix in 2024 this weekend, admitting after practice that "Ferrari is certainly fast".

"But we can fine-tune a few things," the triple world champion said in Melbourne. "I don’t see a reason to worry yet," Red Bull’s Dutch driver added.

Team advisor Dr Helmut Marko agreed: "We have to take Ferrari seriously here. They look extremely strong on one lap and in the long run."

However, he added: "We drove with less power than Ferrari on the fast lap. And the long run still needs fine-tuning. But they’re strong here. (Charles) Leclerc is fast.

"Max also damaged the underbody and a few other things relatively badly in the first session, which meant we had less time in the second one.

"We were a little bit behind in the long run, but this is due to the lack of time. But it will be tight, especially if we don’t get the tuning under control.

"But I’m optimistic that we will succeed," said Marko.