Christian Horner is not expecting an immediate upturn in form from his Red Bull team during the opening rounds of the 2016 Formula 1 season.
The Milton Keynes operation endured a difficult 2015 campaign plagued by reliability and a lacklustre Renault power unit which restricted the squad to just three podium finishes.
Following a long saga regarding its engine supplier for 2016, Red Bull will continue its relationship with Renault although it will run TAG Heuer branded power units from the French manufacturer.
While confident the team will eventually return to its front running form, team boss Horner believes it will take time for his squad to close the gap to Mercedes, Ferrari and Williams.
Australia’s Daniel Ricciardo will once again be joined by Daniil Kvyat for the 2016 season.
“(2015 was) a different challenge and we haven’t lost any major team members,” he said.
“The team have done a tremendous job of getting their head down and focusing on the chassis.
“And the chassis was developed and developed through the year, and I believe we’ve got a very strong chassis.
“We’re just going to have to tread water for a moment until we get ourselves back onto the front foot and our time will come again.”
Pre-season testing will begin at France’s Paul Ricard circuit with a Pirelli wet weather tyre test scheduled for January 25-26.