It's fair to say Red Bull has so far been nowhere close to where anyone expected it to be heading into this new Formula 1 season. OK, Max Verstappen scored a heroic podium in mixed conditions in China, but the RB13 has still been way off the pace set by Mercedes and Ferrari in 'normal' conditions.
Despite exuding confidence after the first week of pre-season testing, Red Bull ultimately struggled to get the RB13 working properly during week two of Barcelona running, and those difficulties continued through the first two races of 2017.
Verstappen qualified 1.297 seconds short of pole position in Australia; team-mate Daniel Ricciardo was 1.355s off in China. Both drivers seemed puzzled. They reported being happy with the way the car handled, but the lap time just wasn't there. Not enough downforce or not enough power? "A bit of both," said Verstappen.