Lewis Hamilton has called on McLaren to beef up his car in qualifying if he is to have a decent crack at this year's Formula One world title.

Despite Jenson Button's victory in Australia on Sunday, and McLaren collecting 54 points from the opening two grands prix to sit second in the constructors' championship behind Ferrari, their Achilles heel has so far been their one-lap pace.

"In both Bahrain and Australia we've felt more comfortable with our race pace than the pace we showed in qualifying," said Hamilton. "While that's encouraging, it's become clear we need to improve our qualifying pace if we're to have a regular shot at winning races."

He added: "It's all very well being quick in the race, but if you can't make up places from your grid position, then your race is still going to be a struggle.

"We can take home the positives: our car is fast, much faster than it was this time last year, and it seems to be reliable.

"Now we need to work on single-lap pace, the sooner the better."