Red Bull motorsports consultant Dr Helmut Marko says he's optimistic for 2019, despite the team not currently showing the same form as Ferrari in pre-season testing this week at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
"What I saw yesterday on the circuit, for sure Ferrari at the moment is the fastest car," Marko told Sky Sports F1 in Spain. "Behind them is Red Bull and Mercedes."
It's a vital season for Red Bull, which ended its long-term association with engine providers Renault at the end of last season and is now embarking on a new partnership with Honda.
So far there's been good news on the reliability front, with Max Verstappen completing 128 laps on Monday and 109 on Wednesday, with Pierre Gasly adding a further 92 in his time in the cockpit on Tuesday.
"It's a very good relationship," Marko agreed. "It's a new period, we don't look back, we look forward.
"The concern was of course reliability, but so far there's not been a problem so far," he pointed out. "The engine is reliable and I would say we have never had such a good preparation for a season.
“It’s a new culture [working with Honda] as well, but it fits well with our people.
"We've had a very good time [in testing]," he added. "Let's see what we can do till Melbourne - but we are quite optimistic."
Red Bull has also been buoyed by the raw pace of the Honda engine this week, as demonstrated by Toro Rosso's Daniil Kvyat topping the Wednesday timesheets with the same power unit.
Team boss Christian Horner was certainly sounding happy with how things were shaping up so far.
"[We are] very happy with the engine and how smoothly things have gone this week," he told MotorsportWeek.com on Thursday. "Really pleased with the whole chassis/engine integration aspect
"[It's] a very pleasant surprise, something we hadn't immediately expected," Horner admitted.
Horner had previously denied that there had been a 'vibration issue' with the new Honda unit
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