Jenson Button has praised Ferrari for taking the Formula One fight to Mercedes, although feels Sebastian Vettel may have "lucked" into the team's latest resurgence.
After a run of eight straight Mercedes victories stretching back into what proved to be a crushing 2014 campaign, Ferrari and Vettel proved there may be a battle ahead this term with a win in Malaysia on Sunday.
It was Ferrari's first triumph for almost two years and has given the championship scrap this season a shot in the arm after Mercedes' romp in the opening race in Australia which suggested another dominant run was looming.
Assessing Ferrari's success, McLaren star Button said: "I am really happy to see Ferrari win.
"I thought Mercedes were going to trounce it this year, so it is great for the sport and for other teams to see another take it to Mercedes.
"It is not as if the weather was funny or safety cars destroyed their race, Sebastian was just quicker. I was very impressed by him.
"He did a great job which shows things can turn around over a winter, which is good to see for every team. It's nice to see someone challenge them."
But despite how well Vettel drove, Button feels there has to be an element of good fortune he was back on the top step after leaving Red Bull at the end of last season for Ferrari.
Button has intimated it is unlikely new McLaren team-mate Fernando Alonso would have left Ferrari if he had known the team would be winning again just two races into 2015.
"He has definitely lucked into a situation, I would say," added Button.
"I am sure he had the same information as Fernando when Fernando left the team.
"It is one of those situations which sometimes works out for you, for example (Daniel) Ricciardo was overtaken by his new team-mate (Daniil Kvyat), and lapped by his ex-team-mate (Vettel) on the same lap.
"Who would have thought that at the end of last year, so sometimes you do luck into a situation."
It would appear McLaren need luck and a whole lot more besides to make them competitive any time soon as both Button and Alonso retired with technical issues.
It was the first time neither McLaren had been classified since the 2006 Australian Grand Prix.
"We have a lot of work to do before we can think about winning," said Button.
"I don't think we will be even fighting for points when we go to the next race in China, maybe Bahrain if we make a small step before then.
"But it is probably going to be Europe we start fighting for points, and that would be a massive step."
Source: PA-WIRE
