Mercedes' chief race engineer Andrew Shovlin says the Silver Arrows outfit needs to take a long, hard look at the reasons it under-performed in China relative to its direct rivals.
For the first time since 2014 and the advent of the hybrid era in F1, the German manufacturer has failed to win in the opening three races of the season.
While many find that state of affairs refreshing given Mercedes' overwhelming success, Shovlin insists his team now has its work cut out for itself to boost its performance of its W09 in both qualifying and race trim.
"We simply didn’t have the pace to beat Red Bull on the same strategy today and we need to be very honest with ourselves regarding our performance of our car this weekend,” said Shovlin.
"We’ve had very different conditions over qualifying and race but haven’t been fastest in either.
"We’re off to Baku next which is a very different type of circuit and we are fully expecting another close battle," he added.
"We’ve got work to do in many areas, both qualifying and race pace need to be improved.
"This championship is anyone’s to win and we will be working flat out over the next few weeks and month to try and solve our weaknesses."
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff is in no doubt the world champions will bounce back, thanks to the determination and talent of its Brackley and Brixworth crews.
"In Formula One there is never a quick fix. You can see how fast the picture can change," said Wolff.
"In testing and in Melbourne you could have predicted that we would run away with the Championship because the car was so dominant. And here we go, three races in, and we're not.
"In my opinion, this is a great group of people. We will stick our heads together, stay calm, get the head down, and come up with solutions.
"I have huge confidence in our people. They've proved that in the past."
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