Red Bull deliver Mercedes concession in 'fight' rally cry

Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies believes it will be "difficult" for the Milton Keynes-based squad to claw back a second in lap time on Mercedes over the course of the F1 season.

Nonetheless, the Frenchman insists "nobody is giving up" at the six-time constructors' champions, despite a troublesome start to the campaign.

At the curtain raiser in Melbourne, the RB22 looked to be in contention for the third-best package alongside McLaren, but behind Ferrari and the leading W17s of George Russell and Kimi Antonelli.

However, at the subsequent Chinese Grand Prix, Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar found themselves fighting against the Alpine of Pierre Gasly and the Haas of Oliver Bearman.

Red Bull had looked surprisingly strong during pre-season testing, with the team's brand new power unit — developed in partnership with Ford — impressing rivals.

But given the significant delta to Mercedes two rounds into the year, Mekies was asked if he was worried by the gap.

Speaking to media, including RacingNews365, the 48-year-old replied: "I’m not sure if worried is the right word. It’s large, no question. It didn’t really come as a surprise.

"Somehow, we were expecting them to be very, very strong as the pre-season test built up, even though it was not immediately visible at the test. So, not a surprise that it’s large."

However, Mekies was quick to point out that the upgrade battle will be more fast-paced than last season, something that will see the face of competitiveness evolve throughout the campaign.

"On the other hand, we expect the season to be very long," he added. "We expect the development rate to be much higher than what we have seen in the past."

But, unfortunately for Red Bull, he expects it will be a tough task to completely eradicate the performance deficit to the silver arrows.

At the Shanghai International Circuit, Verstappen, who qualified P10, was just under a second adrift of polesitter Antonelli.

Mekies explained: "Of course, it’s always going to be difficult to get a second back, because obviously they will improve as well, but nobody is giving up here, and yeah, that is the fight we are in."