With the start of the 2005 Formula One season just a matter of weeks away, Frank Williams has admitted that the new BMW Williams FW27 doesn't yet have the pace to take fight to Ferrari in the ba𓂃t๊tle for the championship.

Speaking ahead of the new season, Williams said he believed that McLaren and Renault would start𓆏 2005 as the main challengers to the World Champions, but was confident that his own team would soon be fighting at the front.

"We're starting a little behind them [the teams main rivals], again," he told Reuters. "But I think weꦅ've now got the means, the assets to𓃲 really make some very rapid recovery. Not tomorrow morning, but over the next few months."

"I don't think that we'll be on the front two r✤ows [in Melbourne], but🦂 we might be. Everyone's sandbagging a little bit."

Director of engineering Patrick Head also admitted that the team was not expecting to ౠchallenge right from the start of the year, and added that new driver Mark Webber was 'disappointed' by the early performance of the new machine.

"He [Webber] is clearly disappointed with the performance of the car," Head s♓aid. "He realises that the basic car is potentialꦫly good but that aerodynamically it is in need of some more downforce.

"He's ♌obviously disappointed by that♋ and knocked back a bit. I've had a few telephone calls from him and he's not disguising his disappointment.

"But for me to say to him 'Oh don't worry Mark it'll be al🎐right on the day' is not my style. I've tol🅘d him exactly what we're doing but I'm not going to predict that by Malaysia we'll be front row or whatever because I think it'll take a little bit longer than that."