JENSON BUTTON insists there is "massive belief" within the beleaguered McLaren team that their fortunes will improve soon.
A first home success for Button in what could be his final British Grand Prix at Silverstone on Sunday looks like an impossibility with the Woking-based outfit in the midst of a disastrous campaign.
Neither the 2009 world champion nor his team-mate Fernando Alonso made it beyond lap nine at the Austrian Grand Prix last time out. The Spaniard has retired from his last four races - his worst-ever run in the sport - while Button has finished in the points only once this season, with eighth place in Monaco.
However, Button is convinced McLaren and their engine supplier Honda, who have desperately struggled on their return to Formula One, will soon be back on track.
The 35-year-old Englishman said: "We are one team and we work together. If we have issues we talk amongst ourselves as that is the only way to improve the situation.
"Confidence is high within the team and there is a massive belief that we will improve. There is a lot in the pipeline and I will maximise what I have this weekend."
Button has not made it on to the British Grand Prix podium in 15 previous appearances. His contract with McLaren expires at the end of the current campaign and it is unclear whether he will be given the opportunity to extend his F1 career into a 17th season.
On his possible Silverstone swansong, he would only say: "Every year's race is special. The British fans and public will be here if it is raining, if it is 32 degrees, and whether there is a British driver at the front or a British driver at the back.
"I am not thinking about what is going to happen at the end of this year or next year.
"I've really got to live in the moment right now and that is something I chose to do after a difficult year last year.
"It is about doing the best job I can for the team and pushing them as hard as I can to improve and we will see where it takes us.
"I don't want to look too far into the future. I think that is wrong, and I think we all do it to much."
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