Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has claimed that he wouldn't be surprised to see Lewis Hamilton win the Australian Grand Prix by two laps.

Despite seeing Red Bull dominate in Formula 1 last season, Horner admits that he is expecting a strong display from Mercedes starting in Melbourne this weekend.

"You could well see more [domination]," Horner told reporters. "Perhaps not from us, but from Mercedes. If they were to finish two laps ahead of the opposition in Melbourne, that wouldn't be a surprise, based on what we've seen in pre-season testing.

"It's massive. What we know about Lewis is that he is extremely talented and naturally fast. And he's in a good team, so he's probably got to be the favourite going into the season."

Red Bull have won the constructors' championship in the previous four seasons.