New Red Bull set for Jerez debut

The team are bullish that the car will overcome a lot of the reliability issues that marred their 2007 campaign, especially following the recruitment of Geoff Willis to bolster Adrian Newey's design efforts.

And team principal Christian Horner has confirmed that the team plan to run the car for the first time at the Jerez test, which takes place from January 14 to 16.

He told the official Formula One website: "The RB4 is scheduled to run during the third week of January."

Horner said that the team had every reason to believe they can improve their performance next year, and said their sights were firmly set on challenging Renault.

"In 2007 we gave away approximately 24 points as a result of poor reliability, without which we would have been much closer to Renault and ahead of Williams," he explained.

"This is therefore one of our key focuses for 2008. With the same engine as the factory Renault team they, more than any other team, are our barometer. 2008 is certainly set to be another very close season."

Horner also dismissed speculation that the team were ever in talks with former world champion Fernando Alonso for a 2008 deal.

"Speculation regarding Fernando was flattering, in that it demonstrates the significant steps that Red Bull Racing have made in a short time to be considered as a viable team by the double world champion," he said.

"However, since we announced our driver line-up in the summer, we have been committed to David and Mark. They did an excellent job for the team in 2007 and remain one of the strongest driver line-ups in F1."