Sebastian Vettel is expecting to be closer to Mercedes on Saturday after admitting a lack of confidence was holding him back during Friday practice.
The German finished well down on the Mercedes duo during FP1, with a 1.115 second gap between himself and leader Lewis Hamilton, but that gap drastically closed in FP2 as Vettel found himself just 0.140s down.
The Ferrari driver expects that gap to shrink further as his confidence builds across the weekend.
"For sure we'll be quicker than today, how much? I don't know.
"I don't yet have the confidence I want and need round here," said the 30-year-old on Friday.
"There are a couple of things we need to do better – car balance, stability and braking, which is important round here to get the confidence.
"Because you are low downforce you need to have the confidence to just throw the car there. We are not yet where I think we can be but I think we should be a bit better tomorrow."
Vettel said he wasn't surprised by Mercedes' pace at a circuit which should suit their car.
"Obviously, we know they are very strong around here," he added. "It's an engine track, a power circuit, that's their strength the last couple of years.
"They are very quick. They were quick whenever they went out, which is what we expected. But we looked after ourselves, and we'll see what we can do tomorrow."
Discussion about this post