Button Thankful Rain Held Off

Briton Jenson Button was thankful the rain held off long enough in today's qualifying for the British Grand Prix.

The session followed a bizarre pre-qualifying, with the threat of rain turning proceedings into a charade as drivers slowed down to ensure an early slot for the decisive second run.

Button, carrying the expectations of the home crowd after six podiums this year, bucked the trend however with the fastest pre-qualifying time in the first session in what looked to be a bold gamble against the weather.

It proved a successful one, with the rain holding off.

"I'm reasonably happy," said the Briton, third fastest in the end. "We're still not 100 percent with the balance but the car's working okay. We thought it was going to rain at the start of the second qualifying and then we heard that it was going to go by us.

"We thought it was better to go for it, I think that was the safest bet. As soon as you start messing around going slower, other people pick up on it and you end up back where you started."

Button's teammate Takuma Sato failed to shine in today's session and had to settle for ninth place.