London: McLaren have high hopes from Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button for the upcoming Formula One season, expecting their drivers to challenge Red Bull in the title race.
Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull have won both the drivers' and the constructors' championships in the past two seasons, and last year Vettel clinched the title with four races to spare, finishing the season with 11 victories. The 24-year-old never started lower than third on the grid and was on the front row in all but one race. He won five of the first six races and finished on the podium in every Grand Prix but two.
McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh, though, believes no single team appears likely to dominate the new season, ahead of the opening race in Australia this weekend.
"Our sense is we are competitive. The bad news is we don't look like we're dominant, but the good news is no one else looks like they're dominant either," Whitmarsh said during a Vodafone phone-in on Monday.
A successful run in the pre-season tests has also boosted Whitmarsh's hopes of a winning performance from his team this season.
"We brought modifications, developments and enhancements to the car and the car responded, and they delivered the performance we expected it to. So I think with reliability, a competitive car and responding to changes, that should give us the feeling we can be competitive," he said.
"Aided by a strong team and two hungry racing drivers, we should be expecting to win races and if we can win enough, we can win the championship."
While both Hamilton and Button won three races each in 2011, Button was more consistent and came second in the standings, while 2008 champion Hamilton finished only fifth in the drivers' standings.
Whitmarsh, though, is backing Hamilton to put a difficult season behind him to perform better this year.
"There is a lot of discussion about Lewis, how he was last year and how he is approaching this year," Whitmarsh said.
"The fact is Lewis is an immensely competitive individual. He has extraordinarily high standards. He only won three races last year, which is not what he expected from himself."
"When you have a season below your own high expectations when you're any athlete, including racing drivers, then you will choose to refocus and consider your approach."
"If he's going to have a long and successful career, then he's got to have the right balance of enjoying life and motor racing, and being competitive and focused."
"I think you can see around testing and how he has conducted himself in the media suggests that he's definitely focused on beating one, his teammate and two, everyone else."
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