Verstappen warns Hamilton: Red Bull can go quicker

Max Verstappen was the closest man on-pace to Lewis Hamilton in practice for the Singapore Grand Prix, but explained that his top lap-time had in fact been compromised, with plenty more to come from Red Bull.

Verstappen was within two tenths of Hamilton's leading time of one minute 38.773 seconds around Marina Bay, but said that traffic had hindered him on his own fastest lap.

Hamilton took things to another level in qualifying last year and Verstappen was a whopping three tenths adrift in second place.

However, the Dutchman believes it could be a much closer call this time around after a positive Friday in the RB15.

"It was a good day," he said. "We are competitive and the car was working really well in both practice sessions.

"I had traffic in the last sector on my qualifying simulation and I only improved by two tenths compared to the hard tyre run, which means we have more to come.

"I think we look strong on long and short runs but of course, Lewis also looks very fast.

"It's not an easy track to understand and it is very bumpy out there but with a competitive car it's really enjoyable to drive.

"There are always things that can be improved which we will look at now and this race is 95 percent about qualifying and I'm feeling positive so far."

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