Daniel Ricciardo says Red Bull still has to improve its race pace if it is to remain in the fight with Mercedes and Ferrari in Mexico.
Ricciardo ended a tight FP2 at the top of the timesheets -- 0.131s ahead of champion-elect Lewis Hamilton. Just 0.498s separated Ricciardo's fastest time and Valtteri Bottas in sixth place showing that Formula One's top three teams are closely matched this weekend -- something Ricciardo agreed with when asked about Red Bull's performance after second practice.
"Yeah, it is okay," he said. "We can still be a bit better from what I feel. With set up I know we can improve a few things. So far it looks okay. It is going to be pretty close these last few races, it is going to be pretty close with the top three teams.''
It is widely known that Mercedes find extra performance on Saturdays due to its special qualifying mode -- which Red Bull doesn't have with its Renault power unit. Ricciardo admits Red Bull still has to find ''a couple of tenths'' if it is to remain in the fight for the victory this weekend.
"We know Mercedes always find a bit more on the Saturday, so we need to find a couple tenths to still be in the fight with them on Saturday. Sunday it is going to be really close. Today was a good day so we will try and keep it going for the rest of the weekend.''
Many drivers were caught out throughout Friday practice with the low grip surface, spinning off and even hitting the barriers in the case of Force India's Alfonso Celis. Ricciardo was happy with his setup but warns that it may not be the case for the rest of the weekend.
"Yes it is hot and then you have the hot conditions but a low grip surface, so not so easy. We managed to find a pretty good set up today with the car, the tyre temperature and all that, but it doesn't mean it will be easy for the rest of the weekend.''