Button upbeat despite clutch problems

The Honda Racing driver had qualified third for the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix but it all went wrong at the start when a clutch issue led to him getting away slowly and dropping well down the order.

Despite a strong comeback drive to fourh place, Button was unable to make an impact on the fight at the front between Fernando Alonso and Michael Schumacher, but he is confident that his car is strong enough to be up there.

"The clutch thing is very disappointing, but the main thing is that we know our pace is there and the great thing is that we haven't got to wait for two weeks to show that," he said.

"Next weekend we will be racing and we can show the car's pace in hot conditions. We just have to sort the starts out and if we do that then we can be challenging the top two teams.

"I think it is going to be a good battle this year, with really competitive cars out there - and Williams looked competitive as well."

Button believes that the fact the minor clutch issue wrecked their hopes of victory should act as a wake-up call to the team to know that they cannot afford to make any mistakes if they are going to fight for wins.

"If there is any issue like that it costs you massively. We are not going to take it lightly, and we are going to look at everything and working out the reasons why.

"I am happy with the car but I am unhappy we had an issue. At least we are not coming away from here with an issue and we were not quick. Compared to the top cars, this is the quickest we have ever been."

Button says he also has no issue with teammate Rubens Barrichello, despite the fact he lost valuable time early in the race fighting for position with the Brazilian.

"We are here to race and it was great," he added. "We spoke about things after the race and that is the way it should be."