Mercedes GP boss Ross Brawn has admitted that he and his colleagues have much work to do ahead of next weekend's trip to Melbourne.
Last year's Constructors' champions (in their previous incarnation as Brawn GP) struggled to keep up with their principal title rivals Ferrari, Red Bull and McLaren in the season-opening Bahrain GP last Sunday, with Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher coming home sixth and seventh respectively.
As a result, Brawn is hoping for a marked increase in pace in Australia, a goal he remains confident of realising.
"The team did a good job in Bahrain but we accept that we were not competitive enough and that we have work to do to close the gap to the leaders," he confessed.
"I was very pleased with the performance of Nico and Michael and the way that they worked together to provide clear and consistent feedback to develop the car over the weekend.
"Whilst our car is fundamentally strong, we have a development plan in place for the next few races which should bring the required performance improvements to compete at the front."
Meanwhile, Schumacher insisted that he was pleased with his performance at Sakhir in spite of what many viewed as an anti-climactic sixth-place finish in light of all of the hype which surrounded his return to the grid after a four-year hiatus.
"I am very happy with the outcome of the season opener in Bahrain. Sixth position was good for me, especially considering how few times I have driven an F1 car since my retirement," the seven-time world champion said.
"I am sure that Melbourne will help me to get into the rhythm even more and I am looking forward to it."