Formula 1: Lewis Hamilton expects Red Bull to be title contenders

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton is convinced that Red Bull will be title contenders this year despite a terrible pre-season testing spell. Red Bull stumbled upon countless problems throughout the three winter tests. Hamilton said: "They look like they have a stunning car and usually the more beautiful it is, the faster it is. So I'm sure they've got a pretty quick car. Once they get the engine sorted, or the systems they might be struggling with, they'll be very hard to beat." Hamilton set the fastest time in Bahrain on Sunday, the last day of pre-season testing. He believes that Mercedes could be contenders this season, taking advantage of the big rule changes including the introduction of turbo hybrid engines and a fuel limit. "I know my team is stronger than ever so hopefully we'll be able to fight with them," Hamilton said. "I don't think anyone will feel ready but I am as ready as I can be. I'm still learning how to set the car up but I feel like I'm in a pretty good position. There is a lot more to come." Hamilton said the new rules make it difficult to predict who would be the best when the new season starts in Australia on 14-16 March. "I definitely think we will be shooting for the top five. That's all I can really say," Hamilton said. "It's definitely the weirdest and most difficult pre-season testing to be able to judge where everyone is. There's still things we're learning, things we haven't covered, there's tonnes of stuff. So as we go into the race weekend it will be a bit like a test on the Friday. We'll be learning and learning. There will be mistakes through the whole paddock I'm sure, and hopefully we'll make the least." Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel on the other hand admitted his team were not yet competitive. "For sure we cannot do the times the guys in the top are doing for a couple of reasons," Vettel said. "But at the moment we have bigger problems to solve than just the pace." Here are the outright win odds at Bet365 for the Australian Grand Prix: Lewis Hamilton - 2/1 Nico Rosberg - 7/2 Fernando Alonso - 7/1 Jenson Button - 10/1 Sebastian Vettel - 11/1