Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button believe McLaren are back in the hunt for this year's Formula One World Championship.
McLaren stars bullish after "impressive" step in car performance
Lewis Hamilton said on Monday that it's "game on" as far as this year's world championship is concerned, with McLaren team-mate Jenson Button also feeling the title is now a realistic aim.
McLaren came on leaps and bounds in Sunday's Australian Grand Prix compared to their poor showings in pre-season testing, with Hamilton finishing second to Sebastian Vettel and Button coming home sixth.
The team opted to shelve a radical new exhaust system which was proving problematic, with the combination of a simpler replacement and a new floor worth, according to Hamilton, well over a second per lap.
He still finished 22 seconds behind the defending world champion at Albert Park and also qualified nearly 0.8secs slower than Vettel's Red Bull, but feels McLaren are now a competitive proposition.
"There is no way in my dreams I could ever have imagined this would have happened," Hamilton said.
"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.
"The car felt fantastic, and you could see I was able to compete with Sebastian in the race to a certain extent until my car was a little bit damaged."
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!'
"I know for my guys our result will provide a massive boost of energy, morale and confidence for everyone back at the factory.
"We're on the case, we're on the tails of the Red Bulls, and I am not going to let them have it easy.
"I'm now really looking forward to the next race."
Shocked
Button, who picked up a drive-through penalty in Melbourne after short-cutting a corner in his efforts to pass Ferrari's Felipe Massa, said he had never known such an improvement in over a decade in F1.
The 2009 world champion also stressed that there was more to come from McLaren's MP4-26 car.
"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.
"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.
"Everyone is now so hungry to really fight the Red Bulls this year - as they always are - but when you take a massive step forward you just want to take the next one.
"There is still so much more to come, which is really exciting."
