McLaren not worried about Jenson Button's qualifying form ahead of Canadian Grand Prix

Button has been out-qualified by Hamilton in all of the opening six grands prix, and failed to break into Q3 in either of the past two grands prix at Barcelona and Monaco.

McLaren managing director Jonathan Neale played down the significance of that qualifying run, and said he expected Button to be a threat on the streets of Montreal.

"We've seen Jenson be very quick on Fridays, so he is doing a great job for us, Neale said during a Vodafone phone-in.

"Together with the engineers we need to find that consistency and translate that from Friday into Saturday result. We're not that far away and I'm confident that he can.

"I wouldn't read too much into Monaco as a race, it's rather a unique weekend. I'm sure Jenson will be on strong form this weekend."

Neale said that while Button's struggles were down to bad luck and a slightly errand set-ups, they were also a symptom of the extremely close nature of the 2012 season.

"We have seen Jenson be unlucky and not quite get the car in the right place in the last two races," he explained.

"It is very tight - you only need to miss a tenth or two and you can move a lot of places in qualifying. Six races in and six winners and five constructors having won shows how close and challenging it is at the top."

He also played down suggestions that McLaren was going backwards - first prompted by Hamilton's assertion that the team was following the Monaco Grand Prix.

"The car definitely has the pace and the upgrades are coming thick and fast," Neale said. "Pole position in Spain by half a second demonstrates just how much performance there is in the car.

"Lewis has demonstrated on several occasions just how potent and determined he is, [and] both drivers have a car underneath him that can win this race, if we can get the tyres consistently into the sweet spot.

"We go there this weekend determined to put both our drivers in a position to win."