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Red Bull's Max Verstappen is confident he can close the gap on Ferrari's pacesetters at the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne.

Reigning Formula One world champion Max Verstappen is feeling bullish about catching pacesetters Ferrari at the Australian Grand Prix.

The Red Bull ace believes he can further close the gap in Saturday's qualifying on Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz.

The Ferrari pair clocked the fastest times in the first practice session at Melbourne's Albert Park circuit on Friday.

And while Leclerc logged the quickest lap of the day in the second practice session, Verstappen was next-best, followed by Sainz.

"We were a tiny bit off Ferrari but I think that maybe we can make it a little bit closer," Verstappen said.

"During P1 and at the beginning of P2 we were lacking a bit of balance ... for the final run we changed the car around a little bit and I felt much happier.

"Everything looked stable and quite nice ... we certainly made some improvements."

Australia's Daniel Ricciardo finished eighth and 10th in the two practice sessions in what the local described as a "decent" day in his McLaren.

"Realistically where we think we'll be, it's a good day," he said.

Ricciardo expected greater gains when switching to softer tyres on Saturday, when there will be another practice session before qualifying for Sunday's race.

"With the medium (tyre) I felt good, we didn't make as much on the soft," Ricciardo said.

"There's more to come from that (soft) tyre, otherwise from driving I felt like I was getting on the limit."