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Consistency is key - Button

Jenson Button is eyeing consistent finishes in 2010 © Getty Images

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Jenson Button believes consistency will win the championship this year rather than out-and-out pace.

After three rounds this season Felipe Massa is leading the championship despite not winning a race. The 2010 points system puts a greater onus on taking victories than in previous years, but Button believes the most consistent driver will still be the one that wins.

"It is yeah, it's still really close at the top, which is quite surprising in some ways," Button said. "I don't think I was the only one who thought that the new points system would reward the fastest drivers more than those who are simply more consistent. But we've seen in the first three races that consistency still counts for a lot. And, I'm told that the championship order at the front would still be unchanged if we were using last year's scoring system, which is interesting."

Button thinks McLaren has one of the most reliable packages on the grid and is confident that will put him in good stead for a challenge on the championship.

"I still think it will take a few more races for us to get a better understanding of the intricacies of the points system, but I still think that consistent finishes will be as important," he said. "Fortunately, we've seen that the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team is extremely reliable, and I well know from last year that the Mercedes-Benz engines are some of the most reliable on the whole grid, and I can take a lot of positives from that - reliability is the backbone of any championship campaign, and, so far, we've got both cars to the finish of every race - and we're the only top team to have done that."

However, he is wary that all the top teams are now getting on top of their games and that the competition will be tough in China.

"I think that this two-week break will be very useful for all the teams," he added. "I think we saw in Bahrain, Australia and Malaysia that all the teams had a few bugs in the system - and you have to expect that after three pretty much non-stop races halfway around the world. For China, I think we'll see the top teams raise their game. I don't think there's any room for under-performance any more. Personally, I am looking forward to a problem-free weekend - I want to qualify well and have a straightforward race, something I didn't manage in either Bahrain or Malaysia.

"Also, I'm really interested in seeing exactly what our car can achieve on a dry track starting from the front. Malaysia was a little bit of a mixed opportunity for us, but I have every belief that we'll be just as strong, if not stronger in China next weekend."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.