Mark Webber has dismissed suggestions Red Bull will romp to victory come the opening race of the season in Australia in just over a fortnight’s time.

For the first time this week, in pre-season testing, a Red Bull car topped the timesheet as the first eight days had seen McLaren, Ferrari, Mercedes and Lotus out in front on two occasions apiece.

Conditions at Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya on Thursday, however, were far from ideal again as the morning and early afternoon were dominated by rain and cold temperatures before the track dried out late on.

Towards the end of the session Webber bolted on a set of soft Pirelli tyres to finish 1.7 seconds quicker than Lewis Hamilton in his Mercedes.

Although impressive, the time was still 0.8s slower than the best of last week at the track posted by McLaren’s new boy Sergio Perez, but under the circumstances suggesting there was plenty in the tank.

“We’ve seen some very quick lap times from other cars, so we’ve got work to do, and we’re working as hard as we can because we know there are some very strong teams out there,” Webber said.

“We obviously focus as much as we can on ourselves, but you also want to understand sometimes what the other guys are doing and have a look at how you might compare.”

Asked about the prospect of Red Bull turning up in Melbourne and blowing away the field, Webber said: “Of course not. That hasn’t happened for a long time.

“Once the season gets going then you have a bit of a trend, but early in the season it’s anyone’s game.”

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China’s MA QING HUA will be a Caterham reserve driver this season along with American Alexander Rossi. Shanghai-born Qing Hua, who was a development driver with now-defunct Spanish outfit HRT last year, will attend all the grands prix and also compete for Caterham Racing in the GP2 support series.

Mark Webber – Red Bull