Michael Schumacher and team-mate Nico Rosberg claimed just one point between them in the opening two races of the season.

Despite showing good pace in qualifying, Mercedes failed to deliver on race day but Brawn insists they have now got to the bottom of the problem.

"In Melbourne, we overheated the tyres," said the former Ferrari supremo. "It was under control on Friday, then we developed the set-up in a direction which did not prove helpful in the warmer conditions.

"In Malaysia, having done a lot of work in practice to make sure we didn't suffer from the same problem, the cooler conditions on Sunday dropped us out of the window again."

"Our analysis since Malaysia has given us an even better understanding, and we have plans and actions in place to improve our tyre management.

"We clearly have a reasonably quick car - we have shown that in qualifying - and now we have to convert our speed into race performance.

"A lot of hard work and analysis has taken place back at the (Brackley) factory since our return and I hope to see these efforts pay dividends next Sunday in Shanghai, with a performance which reflects the capabilities of the F1 W03."

Shanghai was the scene of Mercedes' second of two podium finishes in 2010, as Rosberg finished third behind a McLaren one-two.

And the German hopes his experience two years ago will help next weekend.

"I have good memories of the Chinese Grand Prix, as I was on the podium there in 2010 and led the race last year," Rosberg said.

"For me, China is really the start of the season as the first two races have not gone to plan.

"The track is quite different to the first two, as it demands more from the front tyres than the rears - in other words, what is termed a front-limited circuit.

"We know that we have a quick car, but we are looking to improve our long-run pace next weekend and to have a better race performance."