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Reuters: McLaren’s Jenson Button is quietly confident of backing up last week’s season-opening victory despite expecting a tougher challenge from his Formula One rivals in Malaysia on Sunday.
The 2009 world champion overtook team mate and fellow Briton Lewis Hamilton on the dash to the first turn in Melbourne and cruised to victory ahead of Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel, who benefited from a late safety car to pass the other McLaren.
“We have a good feeling at the moment, there’s a lot of confidence in the team but we also know there are a lot of other quick cars,” Button told reporters on Thursday.
“Red Bull were strong in the race and some of the others didn’t put it together over the weekend, so I expect it to be more competitive than Melbourne.
“We have a really good car so a one-two is not out of the question if everything goes well.”
McLaren locked out the front row of the grid in Australia and have been tipped to repeat the feat in Malaysia, a prediction Button was quick to play down as he weighed up the nuances of the demanding Sepang Circuit.
“It’s such a different circuit to Melbourne but that’s the same for everyone,” he added. “Our car worked well in Melbourne and we came away with the victory but here it’s a bit tricky. A lot of tyre degradation, it’s very hot and humid, and very fast and flowing. So everything points to being able to look after the tyres really.
“Also you have the weather thrown in...as we know, it can rain at any time because of high humidity. It’s going to be a tough weekend for all of us but the important thing is to just get out there and get some laps in.” Hamilton cast a disappointed figure on the third step of the podium last week after qualifying on pole but the 2008 world champion was looking forward to the chance of a fresh victory rather than regretting an opportunity missed.
“Clearly, we’re very encouraged by our pace, both in qualifying and in the race, and I’d like to think we can continue that at Malaysia this weekend,” Hamilton said.
“I think both Mercedes and Red Bull have performance up their sleeves, and they’ll both be very fast in qualifying and the race.
“But it’s nice to be the hunted rather than the hunter, which has been the case in the past few seasons. I know how well our team can respond... the result in Australia will only double everyone’s resolve.
“The development race has already started and we’ll be pushing like crazy to stay at the front. I think Malaysia will add detail to the overall picture, but it’s the pace of development that will define the course of the season.”
