Lewis Hamilton said he was hoping Ferrari can unlock "more performance" from his car after a solid but unspectacular day's practice at the Austrian Grand Prix on Friday.
The seven-time world champion, who claimed his maiden victory for Ferrari and the record 106th of his career two weeks ago in Spain, wound up fifth in both sessions at the Red Bull Ring circuit.
"We've definitely got some work to do to find the right setup and balance and unlock some performance," he said.
"It's all about staying focused, understanding where we're losing out and seeing what we can do ahead of tomorrow," the 41-year-old added.
After two second places and a win in his last three races, Hamilton has risen to second in the drivers' standings, 41 points adrift of Mercedes's Italian teenager Kimi Antonelli.
Temperatures reached 32C on Friday with similar conditions expected over the coming days.
"I'd say it was a solid but challenging start to the weekend, with the high temperatures making an already demanding circuit even tougher," Hamilton said.
"The car felt quite positive straight out of the box, but this track is pretty unforgiving so even a small balance issue costs you a lot of lap time."
Teammate Charles Leclerc admitted that it had been a difficult day for him and added that, like Hamilton, he wanted to work hard overnight to find more performance on Saturday.