Red Bull aren't getting carried away by their opening-race podium at the Australian Grand Prix last weekend due to the nature of the circuit, and believe the pecking order will become clearer after the second round on the Formula 1 calendar in Bahrain.
The team made a brave move to Honda power for the 2019 season and delivered the Japanese manufacturer's first podium since the 2008 British GP in Australia with Max Verstappen finishing third behind Mercedes' Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton.
Team boss Christian Horner isn't gauging the success of the partnership after one race and feels a clearer picture of where each team stands will come next weekend following the Bahrain GP.
"It's still too early to talk about the championship," he told Motorsport-Total. "The podium was a great moment for Honda [but] the race at Albert Park is also not the benchmark for the pecking order in Formula 1, because the track has a special characteristic.
"Mercedes surprised with its pace and Ferrari rather disappointed. Whether this is really a trend, can only be evaluated after the race in Bahrain."
Horner is however proud of what was achieved last weekend, but warned there's still work to close the gap to Mercedes and Ferrari.
"We are proud of the performance and are happy with the Honda product," added Horner. "I hope this is the start of a strong season.
"The goal of Red Bull is still to close the gap on Mercedes and Ferrari. But we have had a good start and need to build on this positive energy now."
Verstappen agrees, though believes the Chinese GP will give a better picture of where the team stands amongst its rivals.
"Starting the season with a podium in Australia is really positive but Melbourne is not a typical circuit, so we can’t get carried away.
"I don’t think we will really know where we stand until after China."
Discussion about this post