Team principal Christian Horner believes Red Bull's Mark Webber is the "dark horse" to win this year's Formula One world championship.
Webber's Red Bull team-mate Sebastian Vettel, McLaren's all-British line-up of Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso following his move to Ferrari and the returning Michael Schumacher have all been mentioned as possible champions this season.
However, Horner has warned the rest of the paddock to ignore the Australian at their peril.
"I don't see any reason why Mark can't be a contender," he declared. "People overlook him, but for me he is the dark horse of this year's championship.
"For sure, Sebastian is a prodigious talent, and to be challenging for a championship last year was remarkable for a guy in only his second full year of grand prix racing.
"A lot of lesser drivers would have wilted under the pressure of having Sebastian as a team-mate, but he hasn't.
"Mark is a very dedicated sportsman who trains very hard, applies himself 100 percent, and as an example to aspiring young drivers he is the epitome of what a grand prix driver should be.
"He is in the latter years of his career, not at the end of it, and so he has a lot of experience behind him. He is still very driven, but he is also comfortable with where his strengths and weaknesses are, and he works hard on those."
Webber finished fourth in the race for the 2009 world championship behind eventual winner Button, team-mate Vettel and Brazilian veteran Rubens Barrichello.