McLaren is set to introduce a major car upgrade in time for the British Grand Prix next month.
The team currently sits at the top of the Formula One makes standings, with drivers Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button first and second in the drivers' standings.
However, team boss Martin Whitmarsh has conceeded that Red Bull still has the fastest car, and that his "battle-hardened" team needs to pursue an aggressive development push.
"We have been through a lot of world championship fights and we have probably got a bit more experience in our team than Red Bull Racing - but we don't underestimate them," said Whitmarsh. "They are going to come back strongly, for sure, and we have to make sure that we continue to develop the car.
"It is a classic case that if we don't develop the car at a quick-enough pace, then we will not win races and we will not win this championship.
"We have got an underlying development programme, and we are trying to bring 0.15-0.25 seconds every race. If you do that upper end of the scale in four races then that is one second.
"We won't stand still. We have a reasonably big upgrade that we are fighting to have for Silverstone, and if that is there then I would be disappointed if it is not a much bigger step than that. But I also expect, Red Bull Racing to fight back.
"They have not won a championship and they are determined to win one, and that will be tough. Ferrari are there as well and, at the moment, we should not underestimate Mercedes even though they have slipped back a little bit."
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Re: McLaren: "We'll get a lot faster"
It amazes me the rate of development throughout the season.
Has this always been the case in previous decades ?
In the 70's for example, I always thought the car for the 1st race
of the season was pretty much the same car for the whole season.
Is this correct, or has the passage of time faded the changes ( and my memory )?