AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX
Venue:
Albert Park, Melbourne
Dates:
27-29 March
Coverage:
Comprehensive live coverage and reaction from Saturday's qualifying session and Sunday's race across BBC TV, radio and online.
Find complete listings here
McLaren team boss Martin Whitmarsh says last season's title push has cost the team their competitiveness this term.
A dismal effort at the Australian Grand Prix saw Heikki Kovalainen and Lewis Hamilton finish qualifying in 14th and 15th places in Melbourne.
And Hamilton will drop to the back of the grid after a gearbox change saw the reigning champion demoted five places.
"Last year we were developing our car up until the last race and so we are under-developed," he told BBC Sport.
"That was a decision we took last year and, given that we won the drivers' championship, you have to say it was the right call.
"But some of our competitors - as you saw in qualifying - have probably been developing this year's car since this time last year and, consequently, have a much more developed car than us.
"We must face that fact and catch up as quickly as we can."
Hamilton and Kovalainen have long been tempering the hopes of their supporters by admitting the McLaren is not yet up to scratch.
And that was borne out throughout practice and qualifying, with the duo well off the pace of the leading pack.
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The pair were consequently virtually out of the running for a podium place even before their poor qualifying effort, but Whitmarsh insists the team will bounce back to challenge for honours later in the season.
"We know that at the moment our car is, frankly, not quick enough to win races," he said.
"But Lewis and Heikki are professional and can see we've improved it in the last couple of weeks, before which it was in a pretty poor shape.
"In the coming races we'll be improving our car even further and hopefully quickly enough to get up there as quick as we can.
"I think it's a long season and certainly no-one in this team is giving up yet. At the moment the championship is wide open."
Hamilton will start from the back of the grid for the first time in his F1 career - a sharp turnaround after winning the drivers' title in very last race in 2008.
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