Red Bull Racing is finally set to drive up the Formula One grid in 2007, according to team principal Christian Horner, but he is refusing to make any predictions until the season gets underway.
The outfit - which took over Jaguar Racing back in 2004 - endured a torrid second season last year, with a podium finish at Monaco the sole highlight of a crushingly dispiriting campaign.
Much restructuring has gone on over the winter months, however, and team principal Horner is confident the RB3 will prove the team's strongest package yet.
"Two thousand and six was obviously a transitional year for us, we basically turned off the development of the RB2 very early on to focus all our efforts behind the RB3," he acknowledged to Crash.net.
"The whole team has been working flat-out on the new car and I think it's been probably the busiest off-season in the team's history."
Key to Red Bull's aspirations will be the Renault horsepower and, more significantly still, the new technical group that has been put together.
This is led by star designer Adrian Newey and backed up by technical director Mark Smith, team manager Jonathan Wheatley and chief designer Rob Marshall from world champions Renault, as well as chief aerodynamicist Peter Prodromou, who worked closely with Newey at McLaren and helped design the 2005 MP4-20 which won ten of that season's 18 races.
"The new technical group is coming together extremely well. I'm very pleased with the progress and how things have gelled," Horner added. "We have a lot of strength in depth within the group now, and hopefully RB3 will be the first step towards realising our ultimate ambitions."
Also new to the team in 2007 is former Williams ace Mark Webber, who alongside David Coulthard makes up what is irrefutably the most potent line-up in the team's history. As a former racer himself, Horner is convinced his two charges will be instrumental in turning around the squad's fortunes.
"We have got strength in both our drivers this year," he stressed. "Both are extremely professional, totally dedicated and very hungry for success. I'm confident that both our drivers will be able to deliver for us.
"Obviously we want to get amongst the big boys as often as possible. We are still an independent team at the end of the day, taking on some formidable competitors and manufacturer-backed teams, and we are looking to move forward.
"We will only know where we stand when we get to the first race, but the initial indications are promising. No predictions before Melbourne though."
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Wouldn/t bet against a Newey car with 2 excellent drivers
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