Analysis: The true pace of Red Bull

The wet Chinese GP brought Red Bull to the fore, but the team's race-winning pace was lurking under the surface in the first two events as well. Adam Cooper assesses its title chances ahead of fourth round of the year

Watching the early laps of the Australian Grand Prix, as Jenson Button made his escape from Sebastian Vettel, a thought popped into my head. This race was about Ross Brawn's team against Adrian Newey's car. In other words, it was exactly the same as 10 years earlier – except that both men had since changed camps. Having found their feet in their new jobs, they now seemed to be earning every penny of the salaries that had tempted them on board.

Three races into the season and the signs are that it could really be a Brawn/Newey year. The rest cannot be discounted, but they still have a lot of catching up to do – and they're chasing a moving target. Having said that, these first few races have been a little hard to judge properly, thanks to rain and safety cars stirring things up.

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