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Jenson Button believes McLaren's Honda engine now has the best system for deploying recovered energy in Formula 1 due to the gains it has made this year.

Modern F1 engines allow manufacturers to recover energy from the MGU-H and MGU-K systems, which is then stored in a battery to be deployed around the lap for more power.

Honda's early versions of the system left McLaren way off the pace at tracks such as Monza in 2015, with Button saying after last year's Italian Grand Prix he was "waiting for people to come by" on the straights because of Honda's poor deployment.

When asked ahead of this weekend's Italian GP about racing with such a big power disadvantage, Button said: "Especially here and Spa, it limits your strategy massively, because you can't keep cars behind on the straights.

"It's very different now.

"The power unit has moved on a lot, but also with the deployment.

"We've probably got the best deployment out there. I'm much happier coming here."

McLaren was surprised by how well it performed at Spa, with Button making into Q3 and team-mate Fernando Alonso finishing seventh from the back of the grid.

"There is a long way to go before we are properly competitive, but it is great to see progress at almost every grand prix we go to," Button added.

"The whole weekend at Spa was positive, and the guys back at Woking are bringing new parts to every race, probably more than most teams out there.

"We are still pushing, and a lot of the stuff we are putting on the car is stuff that will help next year's car.

"It's good to feel so much progress, and it's so much more enjoyable when you're fighting in the top 10.

"It's a nice feeling compared to last year. Big progress, but you want more.

"Sixth or seventh, that's good for where we are now, but it's not winning. We want to get back there."