Daniel Ricciardo thinks Red Bull can "gain a big chunk" on Saturday and move ahead of Ferrari in Canada after finishing FP2 nine tenths off the pace.
Red Bull came into this weekend hoping to move closer to the world champions and fully utilise Renault's engine upgrade, now available to both drivers, at a circuit which rewards power. In second practice Ricciardo finished fifth, behind teammate Max Verstappen, while Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel split the Mercedes drivers and finished just two tenths behind session leader Lewis Hamilton.
Ricciardo explained the engine was not pushed to the maximum on Friday practice and is expecting Red Bull to move closer to Ferrari on Saturday.
"We did not run in qualifying mode yet, so there is still more to come from it tomorrow," he said. "But so far it seems okay, but tomorrow we will see a bit more of a step. With that we should be closer than a second behind the Mercedes. Hopefully we can gain a big chunk. I think it will put us a lot closer to the Ferraris."
Asked whether the gap to Mercedes was coming down each race, he said: "Let's see tomorrow, they had a good buffer on us today, but we have a bit more to come from all areas, so if we are within half a second that would be decent enough. And then you never know what happens in the race."
Ricciardo came to Canada looking to bounce back from his disappointment in Monaco, where he losts what looked like a certain victory through a botched Red Bull pit stop. The Australian says the opening laps were important for shaking off his remaining feelings of frustration about what transpired two weeks ago.
"I had a good knock on the wall probably my third or fourth lap today, so I was still probably letting off some steam. I was okay and definitely happy to be back behind the wheel of the car, and I have always enjoyed driving around here.
"It is definitely a lot of fun pushing the limits and jumping the kerbs. I don't think we quote got everything out of it today, but that is Friday, we are learning, and if we put in the right work tonight we will be pretty close to Ferrari. With the right lap we can be ahead of them."