A set-up issue left Sergio Perez further down the order following the opening two practice session for the Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix.
The Mexican was only 11th-fastest in Free Practice 2, a session topped by Max Verstappen in the sister car, a full second between the pair.
“Unfortunately, there is not much we can read into the sessions today, to really work the car out you need to get good pace and then work from there, which I couldn't do today,” the Monaco winner explained.
“We had an issue with the set-up on our low fuel runs but luckily we managed to figure it out and the long runs were a bit more representative but still we had a bit of an issue – hopefully tomorrow we can sort everything out.
“I am a bit on the back foot but, all being well tonight, we are able to make the right compromises to be competitive tomorrow.”
Verstappen meanwhile enjoyed a near perfect day, topping both sessions as he worked through his programme without apparent incident.
“It was a positive day, of course there are always things that you can look at to try and find the complete balance, but overall today was a good start to the weekend,” the championship leader said.
“The softest compound is always the hardest one to nail, so I think there's definitely more time to find in that, even then we have a competitive car so that's good.
“The long run was good, it's still hard on tyres around here so there's still a few things to work on.
“Even with the things I want to improve, it was still a good day,” he added.
“If it rains in qualifying, it's the same for everyone, we just deal with it.
“It's good to see that for Sunday we should have a competitive car so whatever happens tomorrow, we will see.”
Saturday looks set to be wet, at least for Free Practice 3, though conditions are forecast to ease as qualifying approaches later in the afternoon.
Conditions are then set to ease for Sunday, with dry weather and temperatures in the low 20s expected for the race itself.
Free Practice 3 gets underway at 03:00 AEST tomorrow.