Aston Martin's technical director Dan Fallows has made the ambitious claim that his team are aiming to beat Red Bull in 2024, as they believe that the world champions can be beaten.
The Milton Keynes-based team won 21 of the 22 races in 2023 as Max Verstappen dominated the season from start to finish, breaking multiple records on his way to a third consecutive world championship title.
Aston Martin, on the other hand, made huge gains in 2023 and found themselves as one of Red Bull's main competitors for race wins and podiums, particularly at the start of the season.
Although the team are yet to claim a race win since they entered the sport in 2021, in two-time world champion Fernando Alonso they have a driver that can help them to achieve that goal, if their new 2024 car can make yet more gains on their rivals.
Red Bull there for the taking?
Red Bull still have to be seen as the firm favourites for the constructors' championship title in the upcoming season, but confusion around the future of their team principal Christian Horner could lead to a slow start for the world champions.
Horner is currently being investigated by his team for 'inappropriate behaviour', with the hearing potentially set to last until at least the first race of the season in Bahrain.
“We assume that Red Bull can absolutely be beaten," he bullishly told the audience.
"This is what we are looking for. We focus on them and that’s what we’re aiming for.
“The team with the fastest car is our target. From a technical point of view, we need to make a car that can run on any circuit and be competitive.
"We are very happy with the progress made over the winter, we think we have taken a step forward compared to last year's car, which is what we wanted."