Jenson Button has claimed that McLaren surprised themselves with their performance in qualifying for the Bahrain Grand Prix.

While Sebastian Vettel secured his first pole of the season for Red Bull, McLaren's Lewis Hamilton will start second on the grid, with Button two places behind him.

Although he has admitted that he would rather be higher on the grid, Button revealed that his team were pleased with their day and, in particular, qualifying ahead of Nico Rosberg's Mercedes.

"P4 is not too bad, it's pretty close at the front and unexpectedly we are ahead of Nico - which is a shock. We're pretty good at starts so hopefully we'll have another tomorrow," Button told Sky Sports News.

"We knew that the Red Bulls would be quick in qualifying, but we didn't expect to be so far up. So not a bad day at all. Obviously, I'd prefer to be a little further up, but all in all I think we should be pretty happy."

Button currently sits second in the standings with 43 points from the opening three races.

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