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.”
Hamilton finished bottom of the timesheets on Wednesday after damaging his car’s front wing and nose in a crash and was almost two seconds slower than Rubens Barrichello’s fastest time for Brawn GP on Thursday.
When asked if the MP4-24 was fast enough, Whitmarsh conceded: “Not at the moment - and certainly not by our team’s extremely high standards.
“Next week we will be testing at Jerez [in Spain], which many of our rivals will not be.
“We aim to continue to develop the car, and the result should be measurable on the stopwatch.
“Will MP4-24 be as quick as we want it to be by 29 March? Perhaps not.
“Will it be quicker than it has been this week at the Barcelona test? Yes.”
Whitmarsh confirmed the car’s new aerodynamic package is at the root of the team’s problems.
“Initial testing of the MP4-24, which first ran with an interim aero package, went in accordance with our early developmental expectations,” he said.
Whitmarsh and Haug are adamant that they will find the performance to challenge their oldest rivals Ferrari, and the rest of the field, over the 17-race season.
“Expect us to fight back even if it takes some time,” warned Haug.
Whitmarsh added: “I am utterly certain that, once we have ironed out the issues the MP4-24 currently faces, we will win as a team again.”
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