Dennis bullish about McLaren's chances

With Kimi Raikkonen having shown hints of the true pace of the Mercedes-Benz-powered car in Bahrain, when he drove from the back of the grid to take third, the team are confident that they are going to get even better in the next few races.

With the team having taken fifth and sixth on the grid in Malaysia, despite a heavy fuel load, the indications are that McLaren are more than capable of fighting for the title.

Speaking after qualifying and reflecting on the team's performance in Bahrain, Dennis said: "I don't ever get optimistic because it is a very tough sport in which to compete. But we knew the underlying pace.

"We came away on Sunday knowing that fuel corrected Juan Pablo would have been on pole, so we know that the car has the performance."

And with upgrades to the car set for the next round of the championship in Australia and at the European Grand Prix in May, Dennis said he had every reason to feel upbeat about the title fight.

"I think the most encouraging for us is that we know what's coming in Australia, and we know what's planned for the Nurburgring in Europe so we are taking some quantum steps over the next races," he said.

"So whatever the outcome of this race, if we finish in the points - and we can do better than that - then we are going to pretty happy."