Though, courtesy of Pierre Gasly's crash on the penultimate day of testing, we have yet to see the true pace of the Red Bull, it is clear that it is 'up there' with Mercedes and Ferrari, Helmut Marko claiming the RB15 is actually sandwiched between the pair.

Having also predicted that Red Bull will win "at least" five races this season, Marko reveals that the team is aiming to be on the pace from the outset, so much so that it is introducing a number of updates originally planned for the Chinese Grand Prix, the third race of the year.

"Parts that were planned for the third race were brought forward, thanks to all the pressure he could provide to get them on to the car for Melbourne," the Austrian told ServusTV, referring to technical boss Adrian Newey.

"Every employee is convinced we have another chance to drive for victories on our own," he added, the team buoyed by its new partnership with Honda.

At a time budgets and cost caps are the talk of the paddock, Marko also revealed that the RB15 is the most expensive car the team has produced.

"The RB15 is certainly the best and most expensive car in our history at Red Bull Racing," he said, "if you take efficiency and the technical perfection of the parts."