Button stung by grid penalty

Button had high hopes for the German event and ended today's free practice sessions fourth fastest, less than four tenths of a second off Michael Schumacher's pace.

But his Honda engine blew up near the end of the session, and its replacement means that he will be penalised 10 places on the Hockenheim grid on Sunday. So, even if he qualified on pole position on Saturday, he would be forced to start 11th.

"We had a good morning, so it is very disappointing that I will lose 10 places on the grid as a result of my engine change," said the Brit. "The programme ran according to plan and the car was very consistent, but it will be difficult and very competitive in qualifying tomorrow so we have a great deal of work to do now. The tyres worked well and were consistent during the long runs, which is good news for the race. I will obviously be targeting a points finish on Sunday but the task has been made a lot more difficult."

BAR had also suffered another mechanical scare this morning when the gearbox of test driver Anthony Davidson's car failed. A broken tooth was the cause, and the gearboxes of all three cars were immediately changed as a precaution.

"Generally it's been a reasonably good day for me," Davidson said. "I was very pleased to finish first in the first session and disappointed to end this afternoon's session early. I think we have seen some encouraging signs for the weekend ahead and the car is looking competitive but it is obviously very frustrating that Jenson will have to lose 10 places. I'm sure that he has a strong enough car to put up a good fight though."