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Lewis Hamilton's McLaren team admit they cannot match the pace of their Formula One rivals with just 16 days left to go until the first race of 2009.
World champion Lewis Hamilton's car has performed poorly in pre-season testing.
Team boss Martin Whitmarsh said: "We are working hard to resolve a performance shortfall."
Norbert Haug, engine partner Mercedes' motorsport boss, added: "We are definitely not fast enough and not competitive enough to aim for wins."
During this week's test in Barcelona, Hamilton and his team-mate Heikki Kovalainen were well adrift of rivals Ferrari, BMW Sauber, Renault, Toyota and the cars of the new Brawn team, who have only been officially in existence for a week.
BBC SPORT | Motorsport | Formula 1 | We are not competitive - McLaren
World champion Lewis Hamilton's car has performed poorly in pre-season testing.
Team boss Martin Whitmarsh said: "We are working hard to resolve a performance shortfall."
Norbert Haug, engine partner Mercedes' motorsport boss, added: "We are definitely not fast enough and not competitive enough to aim for wins."
During this week's test in Barcelona, Hamilton and his team-mate Heikki Kovalainen were well adrift of rivals Ferrari, BMW Sauber, Renault, Toyota and the cars of the new Brawn team, who have only been officially in existence for a week.
BBC SPORT | Motorsport | Formula 1 | We are not competitive - McLaren