Button: The aim is victory

McLaren’s Jenson Button reckons his fifth place start in tomorrow’s Chinese Grand Prix could provide the springboard for his second win of the season, but admitted that surprise third-place starter Kamui Kobayashi could be a major threat.

Button, who won the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, finished fifth in qualifying in Shanghai but will line up at the front of row three as team-mate Lewis Hamilton, second fastest in qualifying, will drop to seventh following a gearbox change. And though Button believes he can win tomorrow, the McLaren driver admitted he is concerned about the pace of Sauber man Kobayashi.

"Our aim will be to go for victory," Button said. "That won’t be easy, but we ought to be as quick or quicker than most of the cars in front of us in the race. The unusual one is Kamui, who seems to have very good long-run pace." The Mercedes pair of first-time pole winner Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher will also have to be passed but Button reckons that the Silver Arrows’ poor race pace so far this year could remove them from equation and that the weather in Shanghai may prove more decisive.

“You’d say that the Mercedes on the front row – their race pace probably isn’t as good as the cars right behind them, so it’s going to be an interesting race in terms of strategy,” he said. “I think the weather will play a big part even if it doesn’t rain, just for the temperature change. It’s going to be tricky to get heat into the front tyres if it’s cold tomorrow – but then that’s not unusual for me. But that’s the way it is and I hope we can have a good race from fifth.”

Hamilton, meanwhile, congratulated Rosberg, with whom he came up through the junior formulae, the pair even racing as team-mates in karting in 2000. “Big congratulations to Nico, it’s fantastic and really done in style: it’s quite a big gap between us,” said Hamilton. "We grew up racing together and always dreamed of being in Formula One and now we’re on the front row together. Obviously I’ve got a penalty, but still, it’s a good day.”

Rating his chances in tomorrow’s race Hamilton acknowledged that he had a tough task ahead but said he to hopes to progress from his seventh place on the grid. “I have a lot of work ahead of me,” he said. “Just moving forward is what I’ll be aiming for and obviously to finish the race. Anything can happen here with the weather. [Mercedes] are going to be massively quick, but I just hope me and Jenson can make our way forward and score some valuable points.

“We’re in a good position, I think,” he added. “I made some good setup changes to the car, it feels good, particularly for the long runs. It’s going to be tough for sure, there are a lot of good drivers ahead of me but I’ll be pushing as hard as I can.”