Verstappen: I don't think Red Bull are the favourites

The team have run into very issues during the first two and a half days of testing, with Verstappen and teammate Perez both topping a session.

Meanwhile, reigning champions Mercedes have struggled, with gear box issues and a Lewis Hamilton spin limiting their running up until this point.

The Dutchman will be back in the car this afternoon for the final session of running before the first race weekend of the season in two weeks time, and said it was still too early to give a real prediction about their chances.

"It's still a bit early to say, I've only done the first day," he said.

"It was just a very positive day because we did a lot of laps, and that has been different in the past.

"At the end of the day, it's a test. The amount of times that Mercedes has topped the testing in the last few years is not that high, so it doesn't really say a lot about pure performance.

"But for us, it's just all about gathering a lot of data."

He added: "I don't think we are the favourites.

"If Mercedes wins that many championships in a row, I think it's still the same as before we came to the test."

(Additional Reporting: Agnes Carlier).