Button Laments Early Run

BAR had a poor day on their return to action after a two-race ban, hampered by being forced to go out first in the session because of their absence from the last race.

Button, third at the Nurburgring last year, qualified 13th while his Japanese teammate Takuma Sato, who started on the front row last year, was 16th fastest.

"It's not very much fun being one of the first cars out for the session," Button said. "There was very little grip and the balance was not what we expected at all. 

"It's a shame because in free practice this morning the car felt pretty good.  We have to look now at what we can do for tomorrow but I am confident that we can make up some ground and be strong in the race."

Sato, the first man out on track, had an ever tougher time.

"The track conditions were totally different to how they were when we finished free practice, so it was a very difficult qualifying session," said Sato. "I was the first car out on track and it was quite windy with a lot of dust on the circuit, which made it very slippery. 

"I had very low grip which caused me to slide and run wide before the back straight, which cost me a lot of time.  Apart from that, the car is performing well and we hope that we have a good package for the race tomorrow, which I'm looking forward to as I think we can be strong."