Button targets maiden F1 win

The Honda driver finished just slightly over a tenth of a second behind pole-setter Michael Schumacher, on a day where the new qualifying format and the wind made it very tricky for the drivers to extract the best from their cars.

"It's very windy and there was a lot of sand on the circuit which makes it difficult to drive and I think that adds a little bit of excitement to it as well, trying to keep the car in a straight line on the straight," said Button.

"But yes, it's great that we've got a good position here for tomorrow and hopefully we can gain those two positions tomorrow."

Button's team have been tipped as one of the favourites for victory in Bahrain after very strong performances in winter testing. The Japanese squad had also tested at the Bahrain circuit before this weekend's race.

Team boss Nick Fry said the result was what they were expecting.

"I think this is exactly what we expected to be honest," said Fry. "We expected Alonso specifically to be very  strong and indeed he is and we expected the McLarens to do better which they have so McLaren will get there, they have obviously got a few issues at the moment.

"I think it will be competitive, after the practice this morning and Alonso/Jenson/Michael all very close to each other, my feeling was that this is how the season is going to pan out."

Button's teammate Rubens Barrichello finished in sixth place.