Disappointed Button Aiming to Fight Back

Jenson Button was bitterly disappointed after failing to set a time in final qualifying for the British Grand Prix after running wide and damaging his car on his flying lap.

Briton Button, a favourite with the home fans, will start from the back of the field after parking up with a mechanical problem and failing to set a time. The 23-year-old trudged back to the BAR garages, his hopes of collecting a first career podium in Sunday's race looking more distant than ever.

"I'm very disappointed because the car was working so well," said Button. "You always have to push hard in qualifying so I thought I would push it a bit harder through the last corner before the Hangar Straight. I ran a couple of inches wide, hit the kerb at a different angle, there was a loud bang and I couldn't continue.

"We now know that the front left push-rod failed under the load which is surprising because we have done a lot of work on load-bearing in testing. It's obviously a great shame because this is my home race and the new car package has been working very well, so this was a good chance to have a strong qualifying position.

"We could have been right up there but instead we will be starting from 20th tomorrow. I'm sure we can salvage something though. At the Nurburgring we saw Heidfeld finish eighth after starting from the back of the grid, so all is not lost. We just have a lot of work to do tomorrow."

Teammate Jacques Villeneuve, on the other hand, was pleased with his effort, having posted the ninth fastest time.

"I'm very happy. Today's qualifying was much better," he said. "Normally this year we have had a good car for the race but couldn't qualify the car, but this weekend we seem to have both. The car performed well on one lap and it was also working well this morning on the long runs, so I'm feeling confident for the race.

"We changed our tyre option overnight, which was a big help. Even though we are still behind Ferrari, the gap is not as big as it has been in previous races. Overall, I'm feeling optimistic for tomorrow."