McLaren feels it has the second quickest car behind the dominant Mercedes. A point proven in Australia where Kevin Magnussen finished second and Jenson Button third, but they’ve been unable to repeat that success since.
Button is hoping to prove that point again in China, where he is confident of scoring a handful of points after some midfield performances in both Malaysia and Bahrain.
“After a disappointing race in Bahrain, I think we head to China with a bit of a point to prove – we need to get some points on the board, and get another race under our belts that demonstrates the pace that we feel this year’s car has,” said the Briton.
The 34-year-old believes the tight field means any mistake can mean the difference between a podium finish and missing out on the points.
“Bahrain showed that, the top two cars aside, the racing this year is fast, fraught and very evenly matched,” he said. “The margins are so slim that it’ll require us to get everything right: a focused practice, problem-free qualifying sessions and a clean race to try and establish ourselves at the forefront of that chasing pack.
“But I’ve always enjoyed racing in China – I won here in 2010, and I’ve always had good results here for McLaren. While it’s not necessarily a track that perfectly suits our package, I think we can pull everything together and have a stronger weekend.”
