McLaren says title is still possible

Lewis Hamilton's second-place finish, allied to Red Bull Racing's double retirement, has resurrected his title hopes after frustrations in the last few races - and the team is bullish about its prospects.

Team principal Martin Whitmarsh reckoned that if the team can iron out mistakes, and bring some further developments to its car, then it can overhaul its rival in the final two races of the campaign.

"There is little doubt now that it is going to go to Abu Dhabi as a title decider, which is great for the championship," Whitmarsh said after the Korean Grand Prix.

"Ferrari have made a great recovery from struggling mid-season, and they are leading the championship as we leave here, so they are tough to beat. Red Bull Racing are also tough to beat.

"We have to make sure we improve the car and minimise errors, and if we do that there is no reason why we cannot win this year's world championship."

Whitmarsh believes that with the competitive order so close between Red Bull Racing, Ferrari and McLaren that there is still everything to play for from all three teams.

"It is a tough championship and everyone is going to be flat out," he said. "You have to minimise errors. Mistakes were costly for Red Bull Racing here, and they feel very much under pressure. Fernando is also a phenomenal competitor so that will be a good fight. It is great.

"One thing you can say is that if you listen to our drivers in that race, okay it didn't quite work out for Lewis, but he is definitely up for racing and still has self confidence and self belief. I think he feels that he could have got a win here. We were second and that's not too bad."

He added: "We go away from here very much still in contention with Lewis, and we have two very interesting races ahead. Brazil is always a great race; we've got some new bits and have to improve the car.

"This is a race that demonstrated anything can happen in this championship. It is still wide open."

Whitmarsh also said that the team will consider the role of Jenson Button in the final two races of the campaign, with the world champion's title hopes now all but over after his disastrous Korean Grand Prix.

When asked if Button would now play a supporting role for Hamilton, Whitmarsh said: "I think at the moment we will think about that. I think we have had a disappointing day with Jenson, but Lewis is still clearly very much in the hunt.

"Mathematically it is not impossible for Jenson but it looks quite tough. Very difficult for him. We will talk about that before Brazil."