Ferrari ace Fernando Alonso says triple world champion team Red Bull should be able to win next week’s season-opening Australian Grand Prix, even if they line up with last year’s car.

But the Spaniard, who missed out on the 2012 drivers’ title to Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel by just three points, is confident Ferrari will be the closest contender.

Alonso says little should be read into results from the recent testing in Spain where several teams topped the daily fastest times.

“Impossible,” Alonso told Spain’s El Pais newspaper. “You don’t go to a training camp to see if Barca is going to win on Sunday, or watch Djokovic and Nadal warm up to know the winner.

“The first four or five (F1) races will be a surprise for everyone.”

But one thing which will not surprise him is if Ferrari is on the podium at next week’s Australian Grand Prix.

“I think so,” Alonso said.

“McLaren, Lotus will be there,” he said. “And Mercedes, who have worked on this car since the middle of last season, have improved.

“But it would be a major surprise if Red Bull is not in front of everyone.

“They should be able to win in Australia even with the car of (last year’s season-ending race in) Brazil.”

Red Bull topped just one day of the pre-season testing at Catalunya in Spain, but most of the team’s rivals are convinced they are bluffing, an annual and predictable part of testing.

Webber admitted after he was quickest during a slippery session that his team was at least on track in preparations for Melbourne.

Just days before last year’s race the Australian said Red Bull was months behind in its 2012 development program.

Vettel complained early in Barcelona that the trials proved the team needed to work more to uncover the new car’ potential.

He then proceeded to contradict himself by saying it was too hard to get a read on performance due to a lack of understanding of the tyre characteristics.

Asked if Red Bull was set to leave the opposition trailing behind on the Albert Park grid, Webber said: “Of course not. That hasn’t happened for a long time.

“Once the season gets going then you have a bit of a trend. But early in the year it’s anyone’s game.”

He named Ferrari, McLaren, Lotus and Mercedes as the likely frontrunners.

Lotus has been performing solidly and the team says it is on track. The returning world champion Kimi Raikkonen was impressively consistent in his first year back after a break, winning a race and bagging a clutch of podiums.

And Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg opened some eyes at Catalunya with stunning pace.

With his boyhood go-kart racing friend Lewis Hamilton as his new teammate, the German will be even more competitive while the super-quick Hamilton brings a new dynamic to the team.

But it is Alonso who has been the most outwardly upbeat.

“We can’t forget that late last year we were seven or eight tenths behind the competition, so we will not be the fastest, but we will not be 1.6 seconds behind, as we were in Australia last year,” he said.

“But we are faster. The base is infinitely better.

“I need a faster car to win, but two tenths (slower than the best) is enough.”