Fernando Alonso has accused Red Bull of making heavy work of its recent successes.
The perception in the paddock is that Spaniard Alonso has been punching above his weight with a less than competitive Ferrari, while Sebastian Vettel raced to the last three championships at the wheel of his Adrian Newey-penned car.
El Pais newspaper quotes Alonso as saying: "I’m not asking for a car one second faster than them, but one with which we can fight.
"Red Bull has won two of their titles in the last race, and that was with a car that was a second faster than the rest," he added.
"Making the most of what they have is not one of their virtues," Alonso quipped.
"It is usually the same: first and second in qualifying and then something always happening. Sometimes the start, sometimes reliability, sometimes the tyres," he reportedly said in Melbourne on Sunday.