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'I'm blown away by events' - Button

Jenson Button: 'Getting to know people, seeing how friendly and enthusiastic and fired-up everybody was - that was a really good moment' © Getty Images

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Jenson Button has said he is delighted at the "incredible" start to the season which has left him top of the drivers' championship after four races.

"To say I'm satisfied would be a massive understatement," he said. "I am absolutely blown away by all the events of the last five weeks, and to be on top in the world championship is just an amazing place to be. It feels so good.

"Make no mistake, it's been achieved through hard work. We got here because everyone in the McLaren Mercedes team has been working for this every single day. I first got in the car in February, and it really hasn't stopped since then - whether it's been at the tests, at the races, on the track or off it, we've all been working like crazy to get to the front - and I think our current position in both championships is well and truly deserved.

"We've not got everything right, but the fact that we've admitted that and just got on and learned from it, has been a very valuable experience."

While the wins in Melbourne and Shanghai stand out as highlights, he said other smaller incidents underline why the team has been successful. "I remember going to the McLaren Technology Centre back in January to start the job for the first time, and that moment of getting to know people, seeing how friendly and enthusiastic and fired-up everybody was - that was a really good moment.

"It's been about getting to know the team and of not actually needing to 'fit in', but finding a natural fit through the help of everybody here. That's been incredibly rewarding. Other moments; perhaps the final test at Barcelona, where we fitted the new parts and realised we had a pretty decent car, and one that I could really enjoy driving - particularly through high-speed corners."

And Button believes things will only get better. "Each time we run the car we learn something new and we're able to apply that extra knowledge to each lap that we do. I've said it before, this is still a learning process for me and, hopefully, I can improve all the time.

"You can have a great race one weekend, but if you follow it up with a bad qualifying lap and a bad race, then you're wasting points. We need to look at this championship, make sure that we learn from every lap and try to make fewer mistakes than the rest."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.