Button revels in McLaren atmosphere

Jenson Button has revealed there is now a completely different atmosphere within McLaren following their dramatic change in form.

Usually, turning points occur at some stage during a season, not before it, but that appears to be the case with McLaren.

Prior to the Australian Grand Prix, the Woking-based marque were being written off following a woeful pre-season in testing.

Even Button and team-mate Lewis Hamilton were despondent with a car that lacked reliability and pace.

But in an eureka moment, McLaren’s engineers ditched their radical new exhaust system and opted for a far simpler design, along with a new floor.

The result saw Hamilton finish second at Melbourne’s Albert Park on Sunday, with Button sixth, a position that should have been higher but for a drive-through penalty for cutting a corner.

Despite that, belief is now soaring within the team.

“Over two weeks ago we thought we were on the pace of the Force India cars in testing,” Button said.

“But we qualified two seconds quicker than them. We have picked up so much pace, it is unbelievable.

“Looking at the performance of the car now and seeing where we have come from, it’s massively impressive. I’ve never seen anything like it.

“You can see in the team everyone is now really positive, and there is a good atmosphere because we know this is only the beginning for us.

“With this new exhaust system, it’s the starting point, and whereas everyone else has had all winter to play around with theirs, we can make some improvements.

“So, ahead of the next race in Malaysia, with the way the exhaust worked in Australia, that is a circuit that should suit our car.”

Despite the gap to Vettel, Hamilton is at least grateful he and the team have a platform on which they can now mount their challenge for the remainder of the season.

“I’m looking forward to seeing what the team bring over the next two weeks,” said Hamilton.

“I hope they keep pushing, but then I know they will, and then in the next race we can challenge the Red Bulls even more.

“With this package we have now, it’s one I know is going to work on every circuit we go to, and that the only way is up with it.

“I know, and the guys in our team know, there is more to come, and that we’ll try and put it on the car as soon as we can.”