Max Verstappen said on Friday that he struggled with tyre grip during the second practice session for the Australian Grand Prix after finishing a lowly seventh, but was heartened by the pace of his Red Bull.

The four-time World Champion was more than half a second slower than pace-setter Charles Leclerc and completed 10 fewer laps than the Ferrari driver at Albert Park. He flirted with the gravel on occasion and said the set-up was not quite right ahead of the season-opener in Melbourne.