Verstappen knows Red Bull must improve: 'Ferrari is always fast'

Verstappen still leads the driver's championship, but rival Charles Leclerc is slowly closing in. The Ferrari car has been struggling with reliability problems for a while now, causing the Monegas to lose many points.

On Saturday at the Paul Ricard circuit, Leclerc was faster than Verstappen for the seventh time in qualifying. The Dutchman's race simulation looks strong, but he does not want to draw any conclusions yet.

Verstappen expects difficult race

"It will really be difficult again in the battle with Ferrari. They are always fast, on every circuit. Actually every race I have won so far this year, it was not easy. I also think they [Ferrari] always make an improvement towards the Saturday and/or Sunday. But my longrun looked good. Whether it is enough, no idea. It felt good though," Verstappen tells Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf. 

The Red Bull driver knows that his team still has to work on the qualifying pace. During the Austrian Grand Prix, Ferrari was also faster in the race. The team had better the tyre management. Tyres will again play a big role in France, so who knows what the proportions will look like on Sunday at Paul Ricard.