There was mixed messages from Red Bull on their potential ahead of the Australian Grand Prix that was not last weekend.

The Anglo-Austrian outfit is feeling bullish about their chances in 2020, having made strong gains on Mercedes last year and hope to make the final jump this year by challenging for the championship.

In testing too, though it was Mercedes who led the way, Red Bull appeared their nearest challengers and that led to team boss Christian Horner talking up their chances.

“Mercedes have put all the knowledge of a team who are six-time World Champions into their car," he said.

“This is the last year with these rules, but we had a very strong winter, the best since 2013 and we are prepared and ready to win in Melbourne.”

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The main reason for his optimism, the gains of engine supplier Honda. 

“They made some giant steps forward. The car is easy to drive, the power has improved and the reliability is great,” Horner continued.

“Our car is a piece of art – the integration between chassis and engine has grown.”

Max Verstappen too has been very pleased with the RB16, but when asked where it could be improved...

“Everywhere. It’s not perfect," the Dutchman told Crash.net in Melbourne.

“I think throughout last year already we got all the time better and better, it’s just a continuous process we are going through and it feels good.

“I think we really work well together so we try to make the best of it this year."

As for whether he thought Red Bull could have fought Mercedes if the Australian GP had gone ahead, Verstappen wasn't making any predictions.

“It’s really difficult to know exactly where you are so it’s better not to speculate and just wait and see,” he explained.

“I don’t think it’s fun, I prefer to wait and see and see the real outcome. You can talk about it a lot but for me personally, that’s just a waste of energy.

"I prefer to spend my energy on other things when I am at home rather than thinking where I possibly may be.

“It’s better to just focus on what we can improve on the car rather than what other people might do. That’s how I try to approach it.”