Red Bull challenging Mercedes, not Ferrari - Marko

Red Bull are setting their sights on championship leaders Mercedes, rather than Ferrari following the Australian Grand Prix, according to Dr Helmut Marko, who said Max Verstappen's Melbourne podium showed that the team is competitive with their new Honda power units.

Verstappen overtook Sebastian Vettel to secure third place behind the dominant Mercedes in Melbourne, with Ferrari struggling badly, having entered the race as strong favourites after pre-season testing.

The Dutchman had enough power to pull alongside Vettel out of turn two, before completing a DRS-assisted pass into turn three and Marko said the Honda engine performed perfectly all weekend.

"It's encouraging for the future that we did not get a single warning on the engine side throughout the race," he told Speed Week. "Everything from fuel consumption to power, battery and so on was always in the green.

Team boss Christian Horner told Auto Bild: "[Honda motorsport boss, Masashi] Yamamoto even shed a few tears under the podium."

Verstappen closed up to Lewis Hamilton in second before the end of the race, but could not find a way past the reigning champion. Nevertheless, Marko was satisfied.

"We kept the distance to Mercedes within respectable limits," he said.

"We are not looking behind us to Ferrari now. For us, first place is always the bar, so we look forward."

Marko even said Red Bull-Honda's title hopes are alive and well.

"Max started the season very well," he said. "That is how you win titles, by achieving the optimal result and scoring points.

"With our car, he will be able to fight for the title. Absolutely.

"We want more than third places. But the team is on the right track, and if we talk about pace, then we were on equal terms with Hamilton.

"Now we have to work on the chassis as fast as possible. We need more downforce, because we've built cars with as little downforce as possible in recent years so the drag is not too great.

"But that's not the problem anymore."

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