Two weeks after suffering a bitter qualifying setback in the Malaysia GP, defending F1 world champion Jenson Button considered the qualifying race of great importance when he looked ahead to this weekend's Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai.

"The Red Bulls enjoyed a easy win in the last race, because we made it easy for them, messing up in the qualifying. I think our race phase should be good, possibly good enough to match the Red Bulls," said Button of McLaren in the Shanghai International Circuit on Thursday.

"The question is whether we can get the best results in qualifying, or the car is good enough in qualifying. So that's what we're going to work on this weekend. If we are in the front, I think we could have a very good race," he added.

In the qualifying of the Malaysia GP, Button aquaplaned off the track and was beached in the gravel trap in Quarter 1. Although he managed to make it into Quarter 2, his car was not fixed in time to race Q2 and the 30-year-old Englishman is 17th on the grid. Button's teammate Lewis Hamilton, world champion in 2008, was even sent skidding out in Q1 and started 20th in the final race.

The McLaren duo finally finished 6th and 8th in Malaysia while Red Bull drivers Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber enjoyed a 1-2 sweep.

"The Red Bulls are quick enough. They were very quick in the last 3 races but I think we've got close to them. If we qualify near them, I think we can race them. If we don't, we can't. So qualifying is what we got to do this weekend,"reiterate Button.

In Malaysia Button was not quite happy with the car's balance but he said on Thursday that the team had worked hard to solve the balance problems in simulative conditions. He hope the car could work well in the real track.

"This circuit has some long straights. And we were efficient in straight lanes, so that's good news. It is very cold and there is a chance of rain on Sunday. We would be ready for every situation," added Button, who is currently 4th in the drivers' standings with 35 points.