Jenson Button believes McLaren will struggle to improve upon its Australian Grand Prix performance in Malaysia this weekend, with the Briton admitting that the short break between the opening two rounds poses little opportunity for upgrades.
With a ninth place finish the result of his efforts in Melbourne, Button is hoping that the unpredictable weather conditions at Sepang will play into his and the team's hands.
"For this weekend, I don’t think we can expect an improvement in our fortunes, but the thing about Malaysia is that it can be so unpredictable – particularly with the later start time on Sunday afternoon, which tends to see late-afternoon showers fall," said Button. "We saw that last year, when Fernando won, and we know that the unpredictable weather can make it a lottery for everyone.
"That’s something that could play into our hands – I do enjoy driving in changeable conditions, and would love the challenge of being able to run competitively in a car that we all know is not quite capable of challenging for victories yet."
Meanwhile, team-mate Sergio Pérez remains certain that the outfit is well on its way to uncovering and rectifying the fundamental issues with its new car.
"Last weekend’s race was a difficult one for everybody on the team, but it’s shown us exactly what we need to do to close down the gap to the leaders," said Pérez, who finished 11th on his McLaren debut.
"We know what we have to do and I know that everybody within the team will be working incredibly hard to bring performance to the car. That may not happen in Malaysia, as it’s so soon after the Australian Grand Prix, but it’ll start coming soon."
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