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'A lot of pressure' on McLaren - Button

Jenson Button: "There's a lot of pressure on the whole team" © Sutton Images

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Jenson Button says there is "a lot of pressure" on McLaren to deliver with a new update in Barcelona next month.

McLaren has been off the pace since the start of the season but Button managed to salvage a fifth place in China thanks to a two-stop strategy while the majority of the field pitted three times. With three different winners from the opening three races, Button is currently 40 points off the championship lead, and he admits that he is unlikely to be able to close that gap through strategy in Bahrain.

As a result, Button has confirmed the planned major upgrade to the MP4-28 which is due in Barcelona has taken on added importance if the team wants to reignite its hope of fighting for wins and the championship.

"There's a lot of pressure on the whole team," Button told Sky Sports News. "They're working flat-out and I know that because they want to get back to the front; this is a passionate team, they love winning, they're used to winning and fifth place is not what we're after. It was a good result - I think we got the best out of the car - but that's not where we want to be.

"We are hopefully going to have a big package for Barcelona, it's not going to be the full amount I don't think of seven or eight tenths in qualifying but it will be a base that we can really build on and then I think it gives us more options with the car for the future. So it's exciting and I'm looking forward to that race."

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