Lewis Hamilton has warned he could struggle in Sunday's Malaysian Grand Prix despite a surprise third place in Melbourne.

Britain's world champion fears his new McLaren's poor aerodynamic performance will be even more exposed at the Sepang circuit, where two very long straights, linked by a combination of hairpin bends and sweeping corners, will place a premium on good handling.

Hamilton, who yesterday drove one his best grands prix from 18th place on the starting grid, insisted: "We shouldn't get carried away by our podium in Australia.

"Yes, we had a fantastic race, but we're all aware that our car isn't capable of repeating that sort of performance on sheer pace alone. Sepang is one of the tougher tracks on the calendar, one where we will probably be further from the front-runners than we were in Albert Park.

"The track is both fast and technical so requires good mechanical and aerodynamic grip. It's much more aero-dependent than Melbourne, so it may highlight some of the shortcomings in the car."

His gloomy prediction was endorsed by McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh. He said: "Despite a good result, our performance was not what we would like it to be. And the reality is that Malaysia is unlikely to offer a significant improvement in our fortunes.

"Nevertheless, we are still pushing to introduce performance to the car. The close proximity to the opening race means there won't be many large changes, but there will be several upgrades to existing components.

"For us, the mission is clear: we must reduce lap times faster than our rivals to enable us to, firstly, catch the leading runners and then to be able to compete against them. It's a task we take incredibly seriously and are confident that progress will be made sooner rather than later."