Vinales: "You can't feel like a star alongside Rossi"

Following his switch to Yamaha, Vinales has been the standout performer of the off-season so far, setting the pace in November's Valencia test and in pre-season test events at Sepang and Phillip Island.

However, despite the fact he is now widely considered a genuine threat for the title, Vinales has played down suggestions that he could steal the limelight at Yamaha against seven-time premier-class champion Rossi.

"It’s impossible to feel like a star in this team," Vinales conceded. "You can’t compare yourself with Valentino.

"He may struggle sometime and then next day he’s is going to be at the front."

Rossi did not enjoy the best of test runs at Phillip Island, finishing almost a second off Vinales on the final day and admitting the test "didn't fix our problems".

Reflecting on how he stacked up with his teammate in Australia, Vinales said: "I have a lot of confidence on this track, I feel very well. If you don’t feel good enough here, it’s difficult to ride fast, as you have to trust a lot on the front end.

"Honestly, I don’t pay attention to what’s going on at the other side of the garage, I’m focused on my job, which it is to take the most from my bike."

While Rossi had stated that Vinales and reigning champion Marc Marquez looked class of the field after two pre-season tests so far, his teammate has been cautious about his chances for the start of the season.

On whether he was a pre-season favourite, Vinales said: "At the moment, when you have that bike, everyone sees you there. All I can say is the bike is great, the team has a lot of experience, they are working, so the bike is there. I just need to ride fast and consistent.

"You never know, maybe we arrive at the first race and I’m struggling."

Additional reporting by Oriol Puigdemont and Venancio Luis Nieto