F1 news: Mercedes drop Max Verstappen hint as Christian Horner expects tough fight

It's qualifying day at the with McLaren once again the pace-setters heading into the fifth round of the 2025 Formula One season. Lando Norris topped FP2 from Oscar Piastri yesterday as Yuki Tsunoda crashed out in the Red Bull.

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen was third fastest but insisted: "Still not where I wanted to be. I don't really look at the gaps, you have to go from what you feel in the car. Over one lap it is a bit better but the long runs were very tough still for us."

And away from the track, Mercedes have been warned against trying to snap up the Dutchman at the end of the season as a potential team-mate for George Russell.

Lewis Hamilton is struggling at Ferrari and was only 13th quickest in FP2 and 0.622secs slower than team-mate Charles Leclerc. The seven-time champion vowed: "We will make some changes tonight and hopefully tomorrow we will come back stronger."

And he was made to sweat over a potential penalty after being deemed to block Alex Albon during a practice lap.

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