Button admits to struggle

Button was only eighth fastest, and said his BAR's chassis failed to give him the requisite confidence to push it to a faster lap time.

"We haven't really been able to find a good balance today, which is disappointing because the car is looking very encouraging," said Button. "As soon as I turned into the corners I had quite a lot of understeer, so I had no confidence in the car because it just felt loose at the back. We have a lot of work to do tonight with the tyre options and to decide how to get the best result in qualifying.

"But we're not just here to qualify well; we're looking for a good race result. So it's a little bit disappointing that we're slightly off-track, but it's nothing that can't be overcome overnight and we should have a more positive day tomorrow. The Ferraris are looking very consistent again so I think we have a fight on our hands, but that's what we're here for."