Red Bull was in a league of its own in Bahrain last weekend, but team boss Christian Horner isn't assuming that his outfit will only need to appear to vanquish this season.
Reigning world champion Max Verstappen minced meat of his rivals at Sakhir, with teammate Sergio Perez crossing the checkered flag almost 12 second behind the Dutchman.
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc acted as a buffer between the two Red Bull drivers for 25 laps but the Monegasque was eventually overhauled by Perez before he was permanently defeated by an engine issue on his SF-23 on lap 39 of 100.
Thanks to its points haul coupled with the significant performance margin of its RB19, Bahrain equated to a slam dunk for Red Bull.
Yet Horner isn't getting carried away with the result, and even admitted feeling some apprehension before the lights went out on Sunday.
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"I think, first race of the season, there’s always an element of nerves, because it’s the first time you’re running two cars and there’s so many things that can go wrong," Horner said.
"So a phenomenal performance by the whole team back at base to provide a competitive car like we’ve got to start here.
"We focused probably a little more on the race than we did on qualy and that paid its dividends today.
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"So we were able to run on the softer compound, particularly in the middle part of the race, and still have the durability. So it was a well-executed grand prix.
"After last year, coming away with zero points, to have 43 on the board feels like a good response."
While feeling optimistic about the future, Horner will revisit his team's prospects after two or three races to get a clearer picture of the hierarchy.
"You never know," Horner said. "I think the problem is we’ve only got one data set which is at this track, so we’re not taking anything for granted.
"So let’s see Jeddah in two weeks, Melbourne after that.
"I think once we’ve got two or three circuits under our belt, we’ll get a much better picture of the strengths and weaknesses of our car and our opposition.
"But certainly a very healthy start and a very well-executed race to bring in those points."
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Ahead of Sunday's race, Ferrari appeared as Red Bull's closest challenger, an impression confirmed in the first part of the event by Leclerc.
But it's unclear of the Scuderia charger would have been able to fend off the attacks of Fernando Alonso at the wheel of Aston Martin's very impressive AMR23, a car that certainly caught Horner's attention.
"They looked very strong in the race today," said the Briton. "It was enjoyable to see Fernando up there – it gives the 40-somethings hope that there’s life in the old boy yet.
"And he raced very well. He’s so, so competitive and the Aston looks a good car."
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