Jenson Button has accepted he must be “quick out of the blocks” in Sunday’s season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix to stand any chance of successfully defending his drivers’ crown (Formula One betting).

The world champion is well-placed to make such as assertion given that he won six of the opening seven races last season on his way to securing a maiden championship with Brawn GP.

The 30-year-old survived an end-of-season wobble – in which he managed only two podium finishes in the final 10 grands prix – and late surge from Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel to take the crown, so knows the importance of a strong start to 2010.

Now with 2008 champion Lewis Hamilton at McLaren, Button expects competition to be “electric” and is realistic about his chances of repeat glory.

He said: “I feel I’ll need a dominant start again this weekend.

“I think every championship, for any champion, it’s important to be quick out of the blocks.

“So yes, it is important for all of us to be up there at the front here in Bahrain.”

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