Defending world champion Jenson Button and his McLaren team-mate Lewis Hamilton are both revelling in the speed of their car this year - and aiming to show their title-winning potential with a strong result in the Chinese Grand Prix.
The two Britons, who have been battling to compete with the front-running Red Bulls and Ferraris, believe they have a package that will deliver success this season.
And they hope that they can produce a run of consistent results starting in Shanghai on April 18 and then continue their form when the F1 circus returns to Europe for the Spanish Grand Prix next month.
Button has already proved the MP4-25 car is a winner by triumphing at the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne while Hamilton has twice driven through the field from a lowly starting position in sensational style.
Hamilton said: "I love this car and I feel I am driving as well as I ever have driven. This year's car is just great for me.
"I said to my engineers in Malaysia that I'd never had a car that felt as solid and as 'planted' as the MP4-25 -- it feels like a car that you can not only find a perfect balance with, but you can also really push it.
"And it reacts well to the changes on full-tanks -- or when it's empty. That's meant I've really been able to push to the limit, which is how I love to drive.
"I don't think I've ever enjoyed driving a Formula One car more than I have with this year's car.
"Of course, it hasn't been perfect - but then nothing is - but I feel extremely confident for the races ahead."
Both men believe that the team needs to work hard on improving the qualifying performance as they feel competitive and strong already in race set-up.
Hamilton added: "We saw in Sepang that the car was extremely quick, even if we couldn't do enough in qualifying to get ourselves up the front!
"In fact, I think our car's always been quick this season. We just didn't get the job done properly in qualifying in Bahrain, but we've actually been quick in all the races."
Button said he believed, as always, that consistency will be as important in the long run as scoring a high number of victories or podiums under the new points system.
"We've seen in the first three races that consistency still counts for a lot," he said.
"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.
"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."
As if to prove his point, it is Ferrari's Felipe Massa who leads after three races, the Brazilian having scored 39 points - but without a win.
Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel, winners in Bahrain and Malaysia, are on 37 points, with Button, winner in Australia, on 35.
Button added: "The most satisfying thing about the opening three races is the belief that we have a fantastic car beneath us.
"We've said all along that the MP4-25 is quite a departure from last year's car, and even though I never drove the 2009 car, I know that we've gone all out to develop a car that's more revolution than evolution.
"And, as a result, we're still working to fully understand the car and how we can bring more performance to it. I think the potential to develop this car is huge -- and I know that that's something we are working flat-out to capitalise on.
"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."
Copyright 2010 AFP Global Edition
