Button and Hamilton put rivalry on hold

Formula One world champions Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton were all smiles as they appeared together as team mates for the first time to unveil their new McLaren.

Button, who won the 2009 championship with Brawn GP, formerly Honda and now reborn as Mercedes, looked relaxed as he told the audience that McLaren had welcomed him immediately and he already felt a part of the team.

"We need to start forgetting about last year... and looking to the future. And this is the future," added the 30-year-old, lifting the covers off the sleek silver and red MP4-25 car with his number one on it.

The car featured an innovative "dorsal fin" that covers the engine and is attached to the rear wing.

"I'm excited, the most excited I've every been coming into a season. It's a massive challenge for me and one I'm really looking forward to," said Button.

Hamilton, who became the sport's youngest champion in 2008 and turned 25 this month, was asked to comment on his new team mate. He grinned as Button whispered something.

"He says be nice," he revealed, giving the older Briton a friendly hug.

"I won my first ever championship on John (Button)'s engines," he said, referring to his team mate's father who tuned go-kart engines. "I always wanted to follow in Jenson's footsteps. So to be in same team as him, and both having won a championship, is great. I'm really looking forward to working with him."

Hamilton, who won two races last year after starting the season with a car way off the pace, was encouraged by the new machine.

"The car looks so much different, completely different, and I feel so proud as I have had some input into it," he said. "I'm sure it will handle completely differently to last year's car."

Speaking at the headquarters of title sponsor Vodafone, McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh quoted Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the telephone, in saying "preparation is the key to success."

"We have prepared for this season more comprehensively than ever before," he declared. "There are a number of things on this car that I have never seen on a Formula One car so I find that heartening."

McLaren is the first team to have the two most recent title-holders together in their line-up and the first with two champions since they had Alain Prost and the late Ayrton Senna paired in a notoriously acrimonious 1989 partnership.

"Both drivers are clearly winners and want to win again this year," said Whitmarsh. "We expect an exciting season within our team."