Finishing will be a victory for Red Bulls

SEBASTIAN Vettel and Daniel Ricciardo are about to discover whether their revamped speed machines are slick enough to win the Australian Grand Prix.

RED Bull gives you ... headaches. Sebastian Vettel and Daniel Ricciardo are about to discover whether their revamped speed machines are slick enough to win the Australian Grand Prix or will break down like a couple of busted Holden utes near Brocky’s Hill.

The fledgling Red Bull teammates will take their modified 1.6-litre V6 hybrid turbo engines and complicated energy recovery systems (don’t ask) into their first official practice sessions of the season-opening Formula One event at Albert Park today.

Australian supporters of Mark Webber are planning a protest against Vettel by turning their backs on Germany’s four-time world champion this weekend. Their actions could make the podium for the most useless sporting protests of all time given that Vettel, hitting speeds of up to 300km/h as long as his Renault-powered RB10 doesn’t conk out and require the assistance of the RACV, is unlikely to be taking a squiz at the grandstands as he thunders past.

Pre-season testing for Vettel and Ricciardo was a disaster. They spent more time sitting in the garage than the cockpit while the Mercedes-Benz duo of Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg asserted dominance on the eve of the turbo era. In a nutshell: V8 engines have been replaced by V6s; the cars will be less reliable; repairs will take longer due to the technicalities of the turbocharging units still in their infancy.

Red Bull boss Christian Horner fears Vettel and Ricciardo may be lapped twice before half of the 22-driver field reaches the finish line of their 58-lap, 307.5km Sunday afternoon drive.

“The target is to finish,” Vettel said. “And the target is to finish in the best possible position. It’s difficult to know what to expect, how the racing will look, how it will feel inside the car, how many cars will cross the line. We’re probably not in the best position for this race. There are a lot of things we need to solve and, unfortunately, you can’t solve them overnight. It’s a bit unknown where we are. It’s not a secret. Our pre-season testing hasn’t been ideal but anything can happen. I’m going out here to push it to the maximum.”

Asked if Red Bull’s cars were such lemons that a fifth world title was beyond him, Vettel replied: “I don’t think that’s fair to say.”

Horner said the Silver Arrows were in a different league. “It wouldn’t be a surprise if they finished two laps ahead of everyone in Melbourne,” he said.

Ricciardo said: “We’re all a bit unsure about how good our cars are. Speaking for all the drivers, I think we’re just curious and hanging out to get on the track. We’ll see where everyone stands today and get a clearer picture. I’m probably more excited than anyone else right now to just get in the car and race.”

Vettel and Webber were at each other’s throats at Red Bull. Ricciardo should take this as a compliment: he’ll be treated just as ruthlessly.

“Daniel is new to the team but I’m sure he’ll give me a hard time,” Vettel said. “I’ll try to give him a hard time. In the end, which means in the race, I want to beat my teammate. It doesn’t change that much. It’s a different name (from Webber) and a different guy. The first year might be difficult for him ... so I may have an advantage there. But he’s talented and bright and he’ll adapt. You do your own thing once you are in the car.”

So how many will finish on Sunday? Fernando Alonso reckons 16. Vettel says 12. Hamilton says 15. Ricciardo grinned, saying: “No one. We’re all going to be running across the line.”