Red Bull boss Christian Horner has fired a warning shot at his two drivers Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez after stating he is hoping that his drivers can take the fight to Mercedes-Benz.

The Milton Keynes-based outfit, who haven't won the Drivers' and Constructors' Championship since the end of the V6 era, are hoping that the RB16B is the car that ends the run of titles Mercedes-Benz has picked up since the beginning of the turbo era in 2014.

The team based at Brackley are going for a eighth consecutive championship across the Drivers' and Constructors'. Horner knows Hamilton will be difficult to topple, as he told Sky Sports F1. 

"Lewis is in formidable form, he is at the top of his game and will be extremely hard to beat this year." 

Horner is hoping that Red Bull is at the front from the start of the season; slow starts have cost Red Bull dearly in previous campaigns.

"Hopefully we can come out of the box competitively, of course, that's been our Achilles heel in previous years that we haven't turned up and been competitive from the get-go. Hopefully this we can be competitive from the first race in Bahrain."

Horner is hopeful that the signing of Perez from Racing Point will be the missing piece of the jigsaw puzzle, with Perez's race pace already looking to be a key asset for the team when the season starts in Bahrain on the 26th of March.

"Sergio has got so much experience over ten years in Formula 1, I've known Sergio for a very long time and he's always had this trait of being very gentle on his tyres and very strong in race conditions. It just brings another dynamic for us, strategically, which I hope will create more options for us as well."