Button hits trouble

This race is supposed to be his last chance to impress team boss Frank Williams ahead of his decision at the end of the month whether to draft in Juan Pablo Montoya next season.

The 20-year-old Brit was plagued by technical problems and misfortune.

The high winds had whipped one from a spectator and onto the track in front of him as he wound up 18th on the start grid for his debut in Canada.

"I had problems with the dirty track, plastic bags, then had to abort one run because of a red flag and finally I had a fuel pick-up problem which meant the engine cut out when whenever I got to full revs," said Button. "Not a good day."

"Jenson didn't get a fair crack at qualifying because of all his problems," admitted technical director Patrick Head.

"We had disappointing grid positions all round and will now have to make sure we are reliable in the race to pick up some points."

Ralf Schumacher had expected to be in the top six but wound up 12th - his worst qualifying position of the season - as he was one of the drivers most affected by the loss of grip as track conditions changed for qualifying.

"I am not happy with this result," said Schumacher. "The grip just seemed to disappear. We'll have to look at the data and try and work something out for the race.

"As far as my leg is concerned everything is okay."