McLaren duo bullish after Australia

Lewis Hamilton (left) and Jenson Button
12 April 2012

Lewis Hamilton has delivered a title warning to Sebastian Vettel after the Australian Grand Prix by telling the Formula One world champion: "It's now game on."

Come the end of testing in Barcelona, Hamilton never believed such a huge stride in performance was possible, whilst McLaren team-mate Button, now in his 12th season in the sport, has never seen anything like it. The team took a massive gamble in ditching their radical exhaust system and the results over the weekend were startling.

"There is no way in my dreams I could ever have imagined this would have happened," said Hamilton after claiming second behind Vettel in the 2011 season's opening race in Melbourne.

"I've had experiences before, like in 2009, but we didn't jump too big a step until much later on in the year. That was with a lot of changes. This was just one small part, and it's brought about a second and a half, which is impressive.

"I wouldn't have thought it possible for us to make such a big step by the first race from where we were two weeks ago. I honestly can't tell you how happy I am, and I'm sure we're all relieved within the team to see the performance is there.

Asked whether he felt he could now win the title, Hamilton replied: "It is way too early to say. But knowing I'm in the fight for the championship, more than everyone else bar one person from race one, I say 'Game on!'"

Button's race was a little less straightforward than Hamilton's as he dropped from fourth to sixth in the opening corners after being baulked. Then after the 31-year-old found himself stuck behind Felipe Massa for almost 11 laps, he cut a corner to avoid a crash and incurred a drive-through penalty that dropped him to 12th.

Come the conclusion, Button's feelings were mixed as to his final sixth place, but looking ahead to the rest of the season, there is no doubting his enthusiasm is bubbling over.

"The title is now definitely a realistic aim," said Button. "I didn't help my points total in Australia, but if it is the worst points finish this year then that's great.

"Two weeks ago I would have taken sixth place, so we've come a long way, and I am truly shocked at how much we have improved. We were so slow in testing. You could drive the car with one hand and one eye, but now I'm really excited looking ahead to the next race in Malaysia."

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