Jenson Button says no one faster than McLaren now

The Briton only qualified seventh in wet conditions on Saturday but made rapid progress in the race and finished second.

Button said that he had felt confident the car's handling in Valencia and at Silverstone, but that the McLaren still lacked outright speed at that point. With the updates fitted in Germany, he was now confident the team can remain at the front, after matching German Grand Prix winner Fernando Alonso's pace in the final stint.

"I am happy that we have done a good job and we have good pace, there is no one quicker than us at the moment and we can fight for the win in the next few races," said Button.

"I have had some difficult races earlier in the year but the last two I have felt confident in myself and the team, but we weren't quick enough so to come here and fight at the front for the victory was a very special feeling," he added.

"They [Ferrari] did look impressive but I wouldn't say they were quicker than us, over a stint they were unbelievably similar.

"They were looking after their tyres at the start of stints when I had to push and at the end of the stint he was quicker than me so it evened itself out."

Button is confident that if he can be more competitive in qualifying he can fight for wins in the coming races.

"We have brought it [the upgrade] here and we have done a very good job with it, we need a little bit more as we always do, but you'd say we are in the mix and if we can sort out qualifying then we've got a really good chance of winning races at the moment," he said.