McLaren boss Martin Whitmarsh has dismissed calls that Jenson Button will ride shotgun for teammate Lewis Hamilton in Brazil this weekend admitting that he would be disappointed if the 2009 champion wasn't going all-out to win the race himself.

Speaking in the latest Vodafone phone-in press conference, when asked about Button supporting Hamilton's title bid - the two drivers are separated by 21 points, with the 2009 champ 42 points behind the championship leader - Whitmarsh said: "We all know there are no team orders, so I think the right thing for a racing driver is to go there and try to win.

"I'd be disappointed if Jenson wasn't going there trying to win," he continued. "I think the championship, for Jenson in particular, is tough, but if he was telling me that he'd given up, then I would be deeply disappointed. So I think the right thing is that if he's getting his car in front of all our competitors, then that's the absolute right target and we'll see what happens in the course of the weekend.

"There's a good relationship between our two drivers. I'm sure they're going to co-operate with each other, I think Jenson is a remarkably composed, mature, thinking driver, and he should go there with the attitude of trying and seeking to win the race. During the course of the weekend, I'm sure he'll do everything he can to fulfil the ambitions of the team."

Pushed harder on the issue, Whitmarsh added: "I think Lewis and Jenson are both going to try and win the race. In the race itself, then we'll see what that situation is. If we are in the fortunate position of being in a strong one-two position, then that's a nice challenge to have, but I think the right frame of mind for the team and both drivers is we should be going to any event trying to win it, and trying to have a one-two. In order to do that, we're going to have to deliver performance improvements, which we're seeking to, on the car, we're going to have to perform well in the setting up and as a team, and the drivers have got to be performing as well.

"We can try and consider a variety of scenarios. We've been in championship hunts many times before, so have both the drivers. The best thing to do is to try and go there and win. We are not in the fortunate position of defending a lead, we're going there to attack and try and win."

As ever, McLaren will be introducing a number of new developments this weekend as it continues to battle for both titles.

"We're bringing several developments to Brazil," said Whitmarsh, "we're pushing hard and we have a range of tests that we will perform on Friday before we finalise the spec of the car to be used on Saturday and Sunday.

"Naturally we hope that those will put us way out in front, but I think a realistic expectation is that they will make us competitive, and if we as a team, the drivers and ourselves, work together, there's no reason why, if we do bring that performance, we can't be competing for pole position, and therefore try and win from the front.

"If we're not at the front, we'll try and win from behind. We've done that a few times this year. We've got two great racing drivers and there's no reason why we can't do that. Generally Brazil provides an exciting race, and let's hope for everyone that we have an exciting race and keep the championship alive until Abu Dhabi."

The MP4-25 has appeared to struggle on the bumpier tracks this year, and Interlagos is notoriously bumpy.

"We've made a number of developments," said Whitmarsh. "Bahrain, the very first race, in the new part of that circuit, Silverstone for various reasons was a lot bumpier than it's ever been, they were relatively low moments for us in our performance. We're aware of that challenge in Brazil. We've got a number of things that we have done which we hope will help us. But whether they help us enough, we'll start to establish in the next 48 hours. But certainly we've made some progress.

"I think there is no reason why we can't be competitive in Brazil," he continued. "I believe that, the engineers and the drivers believe it. We're in a fierce championship at the moment. Ferrari and Red Bull won't stand still, they'll be doing everything they can to win, and I think frankly that's the great thing about this championship - no one, I think, with high levels of confidence, whether you're inside a team or outside, can predict which car will be quicker around Interlagos between a McLaren, a Ferrari and a Red Bull."

Following claims, most notably by Max Mosley, that a title win for Alonso would be devalued after what happened in Germany, Whitmarsh said: "I have lots of private views on the outcome.