Horner positive on Friday running: "We're pretty satisfied with today."

Red Bull are seeming to be the strong for this weekend's Bahrain Grand Prix, with the reigning world champion Max Verstappen topping the times in Free Practice 2, ahead of both of the Ferraris. Team Boss of the Milton Keynes-based outfit was feeling positive after the first day of the weekend, as he told Sky Sports.

Max Verstappen ended up setting a time of 1:31.936, becoming the only driver to lap in the 1:31's, in what could be the first representative session of the season.

"It's been a positive day for us, both in the warmer conditions earlier, and the short run and long runs in the last session looked pretty decent. Fuel loads and engine modes, so many caveats but we're pretty satisfied with today's running" Horner remarked to Sky Sports.

However, in comparison to Verstappen, Red Bull's second driver, Sergio Perez, ended the day seventh on the charts, around a second slower than the Dutchman. Horner elaborated on the Mexican's performance by saying; "Sergio was trying a couple of different things on his car, when you are limited with two hours running and a new car, you diverge with the set ups to get as much data as you can."

While the porpoising issue from the pre-season tests seem to have disappeared from Red Bull's challenger, that cannot be said for various other teams on the grid. Mercedes look to be in a bad shape with the situation, with Lewis Hamilton seeming to suffer the worst from it, as he said on his team radio during the practice sessions.

"I think [Red Bull struggling] to a lesser degree [with porpoising], there's [Mercedes] looks pretty aggressive. We had a fair amount in Barcelona but we started to get on top and understand it. It's an inherent thing with the regulations, just trying to understand what triggers it and calm it down. They're so sensitive to the ride height, the lower you go the worse it gets. I think we are very much focused on how we can improve our car." Horner comments.

While the Red Bulls look mighty impressive, the pace of the Ferraris cannot be ignored. Charles Leclerc finished second after Verstappen, only +0.087 seconds away from the Dutchman's time.

"I think Ferrari are very quick, you see Leclerc and Sainz quick. Whenever on track in pre-season they've looked impressive. I think they could well be the car to beat tomorrow." The Red Bull boss stated.