McLaren confident for wet qualifying

Both Button and Lewis Hamilton left their runs too late at Sepang earlier this year and spun as the rainfall increased, eventually starting 17th and 20th. Button is determined that the team will not make the same mistake twice.

When asked what he expected if Saturday's qualifying session is wet, he said: "It's going to be very messy. We've got to make sure in Q1, if it is tricky conditions, that we're out on the circuit when we need to be at the correct time. That's the most important thing in Q1, and we'll see what happens from there on. We won't make the same mistake as we made in Malaysia, we've learned from that."

Hamilton fancies McLaren's chances at Spa if the rain continues.

"Today was just very up and down in terms of weather. If it rains, we'll definitely be competitive," he said. "I'm very glad it's raining because the gap to the cars ahead of us at the last race was quite considerable. Being in the rain opens up opportunity. I'm hoping that it being wet and varying conditions will enable us to maximise a little bit more than if it was dry.

"We're always in the hunt - whether we're a second behind or not, we're always in the hunt. I feel this track suits the car a little bit better. It does feel quite good today, but we've only done a couple of laps on dry tyres."