Dr Helmut Marko believes that Red Bull has made a jump over the winter break and is now ahead of Mercedes. The Red Bull motorsport advisor added that Ferrari was the quickest team so far.
Red Bull has begun its partnership with Honda on the right foot and after racking up high mileage with no obvious performance issues, the team feel they have made a positive start to the season.
“Red Bull Racing and Toro Rosso have had a very good time and the engine is reliable. I would say we have never had such a good preparation for this season with both teams.”
Winter testing can sometimes be deceptive with teams hiding their true pace but there is no denying that Ferrari has enjoyed a very productive first week. The SF90 looks quick and reliable, so much so that Marko believes they have a sizable advantage over Mercedes and Red Bull could even be in front of the reigning champions.
“From what I saw yesterday on the circuit, Ferrari at the moment is the fastest car and behind that is Red Bull and Mercedes,” he explained to Sky Sports F1.
“Let’s see what we can do in Melbourne but we are quite optimistic that this year we can win races from our own strength not only if others have trouble or at special circuits like Monte Carlo."