Starting from fifth place, Alonso won his second race this season, showing that Ferrari can challenge Red Bull for pure speed.
Alonso, champion in 2005 and 2006, will spearhead Ferrari's challenge following his move from Renault.
Both Button and team-mate Takumo Sato hope the new car will enable them to challenge Ferrari's dominance.
BBC: SPORT | Motorsport | Formula One | Button retains BAR team backing
But the Englishman, who leads the championship by five points, is confident there is still more to come to challenge Ferrari.
BBC: SPORT | Motorsport | Formula One | Massa pips Hamilton to Euro pole
Moreover, it may be some time before Ferrari face a serious challenge, for both Williams and McLaren are a long way behind.
Strong performances in Australia and China, where Alonso raced to a dominant victory for Ferrari, continue to give Ferrari hope that they can still challenge their main rivals Red Bull, Lotus and Mercedes in the title hunt when racing resumes in the Spanish city of Barcelona on May 12.
There was encouraging feedback from both drivers following Friday practice that either way the team can challenge rivals Red Bull and Ferrari for pole.
Renault are hoping the R29 will allow Alonso and team-mate Nelson Piquet Jr to mount a serious challenge to front-runners McLaren and Ferrari.
The 2013 season gets underway with the Australian Grand Prix on March 17 and Alonso has urged Ferrari to arrive at the Melbourne race ready to challenge the dominance of Red Bull, who have now won the drivers' and constructors' titles for three consecutive years.
While Raikkonen managed to hold off Alonso's challenge, the Spaniard is remaining philosophical after Ferrari managed to finish ahead of rival Red Bull.
CNN: Raikkonen claims 'easy' victory at Australian Grand Prix
Montoya is six points behind his team-mate in the title chase and Williams are just three adrift of Ferrari in the constructors' table, but Williams are playing down the prospect of a title challenge.
While Lotus was acknowledged even in preseason testing to have a pace comparable to the likes of Red Bull and Ferrari, there was a nagging doubt whether it would have the depth of financial resources to challenge its bigger rivals throughout the season.
应用推荐