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Valtteri Bottas insists there is nothing "fundamentally wrong" with Mercedes' 2019 car.
The Finn was asked about the apparent half a second gap that separates the reigning champions from Ferrari after the first winter test.
'We have problems'
"Ferrari seems to be ahead of us at the moment. That's a fact," Bottas admitted.
READ: 'Ferrari is as strong as a bear' - F1 team 'extremely fast' already - Nico Hulkenberg
He cautioned that the situation could be different by Melbourne, particularly if rumours are true that Mercedes is looking into following Ferrari's lead with the front wing design.
"The tyre window is very small and the balance is on a knife's edge. We have problems in some corners and bigger problems in some others," Bottas said, explaining Mercedes' problem.
"But it also does not feel like something is fundamentally wrong with the car."
'Tests are tests'
Speaking to Sky Italia, Bottas' teammate and reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton would not talk specifically about Mercedes' apparent deficit to Ferrari.
But he admitted that Mercedes could be set for "our most difficult year".
"I also know that I have the best team that knows how to find the way to the top.
"Tests are tests. At this moment it is completely irrelevant how fast we are. What matters is how fast we are in Q3 in Australia," Hamilton insisted.
Team boss Toto Wolff denied that Mercedes is "sandbagging".
"You have to find a balance between not showing all your cards and developing a car that is representative of what you take to Melbourne," he said.
"We can see that Ferrari has done a good job, but other years have looked like that as well," Wolff added.