McLaren's clear early edge in 2025 isn't unbeatable, with Red Bull potentially closing the gap in as few as five races.
That's the bold assertion from Dr Helmut Marko, Red Bull's influential adviser and self-proclaimed "optimist".
Speaking after the Melbourne race, where Lando Norris fended off a tight finish in tough conditions to become the first non-Max Verstappen championship leader in years, Marko remained defiant.
Mercedes' George Russell, who joined Norris on the podium, isn't so sure. "If you have a six-tenths lead at the beginning of the year, nobody overcomes that over the course of the year," he said.
At Red Bull and beyond, there's puzzlement over how McLaren has crafted a car with such standout strengths—not just in warming the tyres quickly, but also in staving off wear.
"This is the greatest superiority I've ever seen in a racing car in this particular area," Red Bull team principal Christian Horner remarked.
"Normally, if you light the tyres up early, you pay for it in wear. But this McLaren is not like that."
Red Bull suspects McLaren's wing flexibility plays a role, but Mercedes boss Toto Wolff dismissed that theory. "It certainly has nothing to do with that," he said.
"It's not pure performance. They manage to really attack the tyre, but when we do that, we cook them."
Marko, however, is steadfast in his belief that Red Bull can vie for the 2025 crown.
"It's all about maximising in this period," he said. "After 8 to 10 laps, we see our tyre degradation really start to happen and then McLaren is a second faster.
"But we hope that we are able to close that gap with them over a maximum of five races. We have some other problems, but the tyre wear is the biggest problem.
"We know what we are working on, and we are working hard," Marko continued. "In three to five races we can hopefully solve it. As I said, our tyres need to warm up faster and then last longer. We have an upgrade in the pipeline, but it will take a little time."
Until then, Marko said Red Bull and Verstappen will aim to keep McLaren under pressure.
"Anything is possible when you keep the pressure on," he said. "Because it wasn't just (Oscar) Piastri who made mistakes - Norris almost spun too.
"They are two very strong drivers, and the car is almost perfect, but this is only the first race of 24, and we haven't given up yet."
