Michael Schumacher says Mercedes cannot be ruled out of the F1 title race despite a poor opening in Australia.
The seven-time champion qualified a lowly 11th and retired on lap 19, while team-mate Nico Rosberg - seventh in qualifying - also failed to finish.
But Schumacher admitted: "We want to do better than in the opening race which was a disappointment for all of us.
"But it is much too early to write us off. Everybody in the team remains positive and is in a fighting mood."
A strong end to testing suggested Mercedes had resolved the initial problems with their new car and that Schumacher would again be a force to be reckoned with.
But that proved to be far from the case in Melbourne when they were left trailing in qualifying by Red Bull, McLaren and Ferrari.
In the race, Schumacher was tagged at the first corner, forcing him to pit at the end of the first lap because of a puncture and he lasted only another 18 laps as the collision had damaged the floor of his car.
Rosberg's race ended two laps after Schumacher's when he was involved in a collision with Williams driver Rubens Barrichello.
Schumacher added: "I expect a better weekend for us to come [at the Malaysian Grand Prix, from 8-10 April], a weekend we can build on."
Mercedes team principal Ross Brawn said: "We endured a difficult weekend despite reasonable expectations after completing a successful testing programme in Barcelona.
"We suffered a number of problems which resulted in a far-from-optimum car for qualifying and the race and then were unlucky to suffer a disappointing double retirement.
"Our priority since Melbourne has been to regroup, to review the weekend in detail, and to establish the best way to achieve the full potential of the car from Malaysia onwards.
"How we respond to the disappointment of Melbourne, and the challenges we faced, will be a true measure of our team."
from bbc sport
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