F1: Button hails McLaren team after massive improvement in Melbourne

Jenson BUTTON has praised all within McLaren for providing a car that has given him an outside chance of a third successive Australian Grand Prix victory tomorrow.

McLaren had been written off following a woeful pre-season during which reliability was a major concern.

That was because of a radical exhaust system that compromised the rest of the car, forcing the team to return to the drawing board and produce a more conventional unit. In a remarkable U-turn, Button and team-mate Lewis Hamilton ended up one and two at the end of second practice, shocking a number of their rivals.

Button and Hamilton were forced to settle for fourth and third after today's final practice session around Melbourne's Albert Park, with the duo blown away by reigning champion Sebastian Vettel's pace in the Red Bull as he finished a second clear of the Britons.

But ahead of qualifying, Button said: "The boys and girls at McLaren have done a fantastic job of bringing a new part here, the exhaust system, that's reliable, so we've more pace than we've had before. "Whatever happens this weekend we should be very happy with the step forward we've made."