Red Bull boss Christian Horner says that it is his team's belief that the Bahrain GP will be an epic tussle between themselves, Ferrari and McLaren, with Horner saying that the win will come down to "who gets it right on the day".
According to Red Bull's "analysis" of the state of play between the 'big four' teams, the season will start with the three teams very close on pace, though Horner also refused to rule out Michael Schumacher and Mercedes GP, and said that he doubted any of the teams had yet revealed their full potential.
"Our analysis is showing us that you have got three teams [McLaren, Ferrari, Red Bull] that are very tight and it is about who gets it right on the day," Horner explained smugly, "But nobody has fully declared their hand yet.
"I think Mercedes look more variable. It is harder to read their true performance. But Michael looks on it. He has definitely given nothing away from his time out. I think it is going to be great as you are going to have Michael Schumacher racing, not just buggering off into the lead.
"You are going to have him racing in amongst the Fernandos, the Sebastians, the Marks. Lewis', Jensons. I think we are going to have some titanic battles this year."
He added that he felt Red Bull's own Sebastian Vettel could benefit from the refuelling ban, saying that saving fuel was already one of the young German's strengths.
"Thinking drivers will come to the fore this year," Horner thought deelpy, "Sebastian is a thinking driver, but both of our guys are. Sebastian was fantastic last year when he was given a challenge to save fuel. He was phenomenal at being able to sustain a very strong pace while also looking after the car."
But he added that the number of potential champions in the field this year meant that it was impossible to predict who would come out on top, with the intra-team dynamics at McLaren and Ferrari also proving some interest.
"It is going to be interesting to see what happens with Lewis and Jenson, and it will be down to the team how they manage that," Horner said about McLaren, "They are both professional guys and it is going to be fascinating how the dynamics of that work.
"It was a bold move from Jenson to go into Lewis's environment, effectively into Lewis's team and take him on. But he obviously had the inner confidence that he felt that he could on equal terms take Lewis on in his own environment. Only time will tell if it was the right decisions but certainly a bold decision."
On Ferrari, he added that: "The Alonso to Ferrari [move]...is either going to make fantastic music or there will be fireworks.
"Massa has gone okay so it is going to be fascinating how he handles Alonso. Suddenly you have got a very different animal to deal with than Kimi Raikkonen with Fernando next to him.
"Fernando is a pretty ruthless operator and he won't take any prisoners. You can see he is a very passionate guy. A fantastic driver and a combination of Ferrari and Alonso is going to be a strong one. But he doesn't look the kind of guy that tolerates things not going how he wants them or his way."
As to Red Bull's targets for 2010, he insisted that the team was committed to winning both titles this season, after coming so close in 2009.
"The title is what we all want to achieve," Horner screamed, "They are the only two trophies missing from the cabinet, so the objective has got to be to go for it.
"We will do everything we can to try and win but we have got some formidable opponents... F1 is more competitive this year than it has been for many years."
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