Sir Russell Coutts has admitted Oracle Team USA is playing a game of catch-up they might not win against Team New Zealand.
The New Zealand boat has proved superior in the America's Cup finals, winning all four races and negating Oracle's bonus point, to claim a 3-0 lead ahead of four races this weekend in the best-of-13 series.
Coutts said he is disappointed in the performance of the American boat so far, and despite echoes of 2013 - when Oracle made a famous comeback after trailing 8-1 - the former Team New Zealand skipper said this regatta feels very different.
"We have seen so many exciting races in the challenger playoffs, it is unfortunate that this is not the case in the finals," Coutts said in an interview with German magazine Yacht.
"At that time I was convinced that Oracle had the better package. They only had to learn to use it optimally and to sail optimally. This time, the Kiwis clearly have the better package.
"It is now about improving the Oracle package as much as possible. But it is a very steep mountain which they have to climb.
"I think you can improve a lot, so you make changes. Whether that is enough, we will see."
Coutts, the most successful skipper in America's Cup history having won at the helm of Team New Zealand and Alinghi (Switzerland) boats and overseen two Oracle victories, believes if the cup returns to Auckland, the Kiwis would "do a good job as organiser".
He seemed consigned that a Team New Zealand victory would mean changes to the format he has engineered over the last two editions in foiling catamarans and incorporating a world series.
He felt the AC50 catamaran still had development in it to make it a better boat, and he would like to see it operate better in high- and low- wind spectrums.
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