Marko issues warning after 'impressive' Leclerc pace in Canada practice

Helmut Marko has warned that Ferrari could pose a threat to Red Bull in Canada, as they chase for their 100th team win in Formula 1.

Max Verstappen ended practice sixth fastest with a best time that was 0.048s slower than Charles Leclerc who was fifth fastest, and a further two tenths slower than Carlos Sainz who was third quickest.

The Dutchman set his fastest lap on the Soft tyre midway through the session, but numerous stoppages prevented him from improving on his initial effort.

Marko believes that Ferrari has managed to find some extra race pace after introducing their first major upgrades at the Spanish Grand Prix last time out.

"Mercedes has become significantly faster, but I'm afraid that Ferrari will be even stronger here - you could see that. They were out at about the same time as us and Leclerc's long run in particular was very impressive," he told Servus TV.

Marko: Expectations behind what we expect

Marko said that while the atmosphere in the team is good, but their expectations are behind on what they expected coming into the weekend.

"We're all expecting that 100th win and apparently that caused extra pressure. So that's where we were a bit surprised that we were a bit off internally, especially in terms of handling."