George Russell says he'll "reassess" his early season statement in which he claimed that Red Bull will win every race this year, after taking stock of the impact of Mercedes' upcoming upgrades.
Like his colleagues, Russell was blown away by the dominant form displayed by Red Bull at F1's opening round in Bahrain.
"I don't think anybody's going to be fighting with them this year, they should win every single race this season. That's my bet," said the Briton after the race in Sakhir.
However, productive set-up work in Australia delivered a step up in performance to Mercedes.
Russell and teammate Lewis Hamilton qualified second and third behind Max Verstappen, while the seven-time world champion finished second to the Dutchman on Sunday, with Russell unfortunately sidelined in the race by an engine failure.
But the Brackley squad's overall performance in Melbourne nevertheless prompted Russell to walk back his early season claim regarding Red Bull, although he maintained that the Milton Keynes-based outfit isn't exploiting the full potential of its RB19.
"Obviously, after a frustrating qualifying, like the one we had in Bahrain, you say some things in the heat of the moment," he said last weekend at Albert Park.
"I do still think Red Bull are a class ahead of everybody else and for sure, Lewis and I got the most out of it [in Australia].
"By the sounds of what Max is saying, there was probably still a little bit more in the locker [for Red Bull].
"We're talking that three tenths, is a little bit. Normally, they're a second ahead. Now, they're three tenths ahead. That's still a huge amount in the world of F1."
Russell was recently given a heads up by his team on the wind tunnel data linked to Mercedes' upcoming upgrades, and the numbers have further buoyed the Briton who may well change his mind altogether about Red Bull achieving a 100 per cent win rate this season.
"We're not going to give up, we're going to keep on pushing," he said.
"Right now, we'll have to reassess [the claim] when we bring some upgrades to the car.
"That will be the first time when we truly know if they work as we expect and if we can fight them. But yeah, why not."
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