'Clearly the favourite' - Helmut Marko issues damning Red Bull verdict

Helmut Marko has been left in no doubt Red Bull faces a fight on its hands after labelling McLaren as favourites for this season's F1 championships following pre-season testing.

Red Bull encountered a tricky three days of testing at the Bahrain International Circuit last week, including issues with the RB21 that confined Liam Lawson and Max Verstappen to the garage for periods on Thursday and Friday respectively.

Remarkably, the team also finished bottom of the lap count chart, 154 shy of leaders Red Bull, the equivalent of almost three full Bahrain Grands Prix.

Offering his assessment of what unfolded in testing, speaking to Sport.de, Marko said: "I think it will be a three- or four-man fight between McLaren, Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull.

"But, looking at the results, McLaren is already slightly ahead, something that was the case in both the short and long runs."

Marko is convinced Red Bull has at least "made progress" with the RB21, given the issues it encountered with last year's RB20, but is convinced that "for now McLaren is clearly the favourite".

As to the margins of that favouritism, following a lengthy pause, Marko said: "Only on Wednesday were we as fast as McLaren.

"On Friday, the last day, I think in the long runs we conceded about two to three-tenths of a second per lap."

In addition, Marko noticed "the tyre wear was significantly better at McLaren than our data indicated about our wear".

Red Bull trialled a new front wing and a new floor during testing, the latter on Friday with Verstappen at the wheel.

Like any team working through a programme, there were positives and negatives. The latter has at least afforded Marko with some optimism as he knows improvements can be made.

"It would have been nice if all the adjustments and innovations had worked well right away," he said. "But at least the car is more predictable. The car responds correctly to technical input. It is not as random as last year.

"Some new parts worked, some parts did not. But that means there is still room for developments and improvements with what we have at our disposal at the moment."