Jenson Button has warned McLaren team-mate Lewis Hamilton he is not prepared to let the gap between them become any greater.
Following the Spanish Grand Prix in which Hamilton crashed out on the penultimate lap when running second and Button finished fifth, the reigning World Champion held a 21-point cushion to his fellow Briton.
But that was the last time Button finished ahead of Hamilton, a run of six consecutive races over which time the latter has managed to open up a 15-point advantage at the top of the Drivers' standings.
Button, who ended a run of six successive races in which he was out-qualified by Hamilton at the German Grand Prix on Saturday, is now determined to bring the other 'losing' streak to an end.
"Germany was a pretty good weekend, and hopefully Hungary will be another step forward," said Button ahead of this Sunday's race at the Hungaroring.
"I'm 15 points behind Lewis, which in old money (under the previous points system) was about six, and I don't want that to grow any more.
"I thought I was going to claw a few points back in Germany, but that didn't happen, so I hope I do this weekend."
The McLaren duo were forced to settle for fourth and fifth around Hockenheim as their car was found wanting for pace in comparison to Ferrari pairing Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa, as well as Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel.
The full debut of the performance-enhancing exhaust blown diffuser proved only a marginal success, but at a circuit that should prove more to McLaren's liking, Button is hoping for greater success this weekend.
"We had improvements with the blown diffuser, but the downforce level wasn't right for us," added Button.
"We were very quick in a straight line, seven to eights kilometres (per hour) if not more. That's because we didn't have a downforce level that suited the circuit.
"We weren't in the right area with that, so it was pretty tricky for us over the weekend. It was like driving on ice.
"Going into Hungary it's a circuit where you throw downforce at the car, so we know the car will be competitive there, but I don't know how competitive yet.
"The Red Bull is still going to be strong, as will Ferrari with the new package they have because from what Fernando told me, they did have quite a big upgrade in Germany.
"But it will be a better circuit for us because we have a package that will suit that circuit.
"It's a circuit I really enjoy, and although it's a little bumpy in places, it's one that should suit the car pretty well."
