Lewis Hamilton: The Red Bulls are with us

Lewis Hamilton believes that Red Bull could be one of Mercedes' main opponents in this year's championship after Max Verstappen's victory on the podium in Melbourne.

For the first time since 2013, Red Bull is ranked among the top three in the Australian Grand Prix with Verstappen beating Hamilton at the checkered flag.

The result was more and more beautiful as Sunday's Grand Prix marked the first race of the new Red Bull-Honda partnership.

It was also Honda's first F1 podium since 2008.

"It's great to see the improvements he has made to the team," Hamilton told Sky Sports F1.

"They had been with Renault for so long and it was [Verstappen] could pbad the Ferrari. It's awesome.

"The Red Bulls are with us and I think we are going to have a great battle all year long between us three."

He added, "I remember growing up watching Ayrton [Senna] drive the Honda [at McLaren] and it was a tremendous force back then and it's great to see them back up there. "

But while Honda has demonstrated improved power, reliability remains uncertain.

Last year, the two Toro Rosso drivers, who were driving Honda engines, needed eight new ICEs during the season.

However, some of these changes were not about reliability, but rather because Honda introduced upgrades.

"I hope their reliability will be maintained so that we can fight a close battle throughout the year," added Hamilton.

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