Button: Pole a deserved reward for team

Just weeks after the squad's future was secured when Ross Brawn completed his buyout, the team dominated Australian Grand Prix qualifying, taking both front row spots with Button and Rubens Barrichello.

"The last five or six months for both of us have been so tough because going from not having a drive or any future in racing to putting it on pole here is amazing, it really is," said Button.

"I have to give all credit to the team and Ross and Nick (Fry) for making it happen. This is where we deserve to be after the tough times we've had.

"It is very difficult to know the words to use, the team as a unit have been fantastic, they have stuck together over this winter. It is well deserved and all credit to the team. There will be a lot of happy faces and not just in our team, a lot of people shared this journey with us."

The result marks an incredible turnaround for a team that had languished in the midfield for the past two years under the Honda banner.

"It has been a long time since we've had a car this competitive," Button admitted. "It's been very tough. People in the team believed and that is all we care about, and they have proved it with this car.

"You can say it is a good car, and it is, but you still need to get in and get the job done."

Despite Brawn's strong testing form, Button said he hadn't gone into qualifying expecting pole.

"This morning the pace seemed to be pretty good on both tyres," he said. "I was reasonably happy but we didn't really know what other people's pace was, and you don't until qualifying.

"They seemed closer than we thought in Q1 and Q2. I was struggling a bit on low fuel, but when we put the fuel in it felt a bit more normal and that is a good thing - it should help us out in the race."