Jenson Button has hailed his second-place finish at the Italian Grand Prix, but admits that there is still work for McLaren to do if they are to challenge Red Bull.

Button fell to seventh place during the early stages of the race, but battled back to pass Michael Schumacher, Fernando Alonso and teammate Lewis Hamilton to come in second behind winner Sebastian Vettel.

"It was a really fun race, fighting with Lewis, with Michael and with Fernando," Button said after the race. "It was a tough start to the race, but a lot of fun and the atmosphere here is fantastic, it's electric."

Despite the podium finish, Button admits that McLaren have to work on preparation and performance.

"We've just got to get everything together on race weekends and hopefully we'll be challenging Red Bull," he said. "It was a great job by the whole team even if there are little things we need to work on."

Button is now level at third place with Australian Mark Webber in the overall standings, behind second-placed Alonso and leader Vettel.