Button gets the rain he hoped for

The Briton will start from sixth place on the grid at Fuji and is bullish that the wet weather that has greeted the teams this morning, allied to his fuel strategy, could see him challenging near the front.

"If it is wet, sixth has got to be the worst we can hope for," said Button, who is well aware that wet weather allows him to overcome his RA107's deficiencies.

"The first four cars, if nothing goes wrong, are pretty impossible to beat, but Nick Heidfeld is possible. We were close in Q2, and in Q3 he was obviously a lot quicker than me and I think there is a reason for that."

Button concedes that the sixth place grid position, his and the team's best qualifying position of the season, is far more than their car deserves.

"It is great to get up there," he said. "Our car doesn't deserve to be in the top ten, so it is nice to be top six. It was a good qualifying.

"These wet conditions always throw it up in the air a little bit, and we always seem to come out a lot better than if it is dry.

"It is slippery conditions for everyone, which is good. When it is dry it is normally just slippery for us and not other cars.

"I love these conditions as well, I excel in these conditions. It is nice to have a wet qualifying and be sixth on the grid.

"It is the first time this year it's been wet, apart from the Nurburgring. It is nice to get some wet, as it is the only way to get a good position for the race. We can do a lot from there."