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Button expects McLaren to win a race in 2013

Jenson Button: "We still want to win a race and I think we still can win a race" © Sutton Images

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Jenson Button believes McLaren can still win a race this season and is eyeing the Belgium Grand Prix as his best chance.

By its own high standards, McLaren has had a dismal season so far with a fifth place finish in China its best result. However, after signs of improvement at the last race in Germany, Button thinks the MP4-28 has the potential to win in the right conditions.

"We still want to win a race and I think we still can win a race - it's not going to be a completely bad year," he said. "Since the start of the season we have had a tough few races, but sometimes that's good for the team. I think at the last race it was a good step forward and morale is high after that race, which is good to see. We're still not going to be happy finishing fifth or sixth, we want to win. For us to see a definite step forward in terms of performance was very positive and here we have some more parts that should help us get closer to the front."

Button said this weekend's race in Hungary would be a bit of a step into the unknown, but that Spa-Francorchamps could offer a chance of a podium after the summer break.

"I don't know what we are going to do here in terms of where we are going to finish, I don't think anybody knows with these high temperatures," he said. "But Spa is a race I'm really interested in and excited about fighting for a podium, I think that has to be our aim. I think we can and it's definitely moving forward, our main aim is still to win a grand prix this year and Spa is the best venue to go and look for that.

"We understand that circuit and we understand what we should bring to that circuit in terms of aero. Also we're chipping away all the time with the car and finding things and one thing helps many different things. As a team it's sometimes good to have issues because you start looking at every single tiny detail.

"When you put it all together it can make a big difference. I think we'll be a stronger team next year, I really do. We found it before in 2009 [at Brawn] and I think it's a positive thing for us in the future. It hurts when you're going through that period but I think it helps us in the long run."

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