Good and bad for Button

The Brit had looked a safe bet for pole after eclipsing Michael Schumacher by more than a second, but this time it was the younger Schu who stole his thunder - albeit by the wafer-thin margin of 0.066s.

"I'm very pleased with my lap and a front row grid spot," said Button. "Not as pleased as if I'd held on to pole, obviously, but I'll settle for second. I lost a bit of time in the hairpin because I went in a bit deep and locked up the right front. There are a couple more tenths in the car yet, so to be a full second ahead of Michael is fantastic; a bit strange but great nonetheless."

BAR have brought a new-specification Honda engine to Montreal, which is reputed to produce over 920bhp, and the Brackley team also claim to have made big strides in understanding their 006 chassis after a productive test at Silverstone last week.

"Having three cars between myself and Michael is a bonus - but I guess I still have Jarno [Trulli] behind me to worry about!" said Button, alluding to the trademark starting prowess of the Renault.

The other BAR of Takuma Sato also played a starring role in qualifying, but not entirely for the right reasons. After a stunning first sector time (0.1s faster than Button), the Japanese driver threw it all away with a 360-degree spin coming out of the final chicane and will line up an unrepresentative 17th on the grid.

"It has been a difficult day for me," said Sato. "In the morning session we lost the first part of the practice due to an oil pressure problem and then lost part of the second session as well, so we could not try all of the variables on the car that we wanted to. However, the car felt great in pre-qualifying and I started the final qualifying session feeling very confident.

"Sector one was very good, but I had a slide through Turns 6 and 7, and in trying to make up time, I missed the first part of the last chicane and hit the kerb. I'm very annoyed with myself and I've certainly made life hard by having to start so far back down the grid. It will be a tough race for me tomorrow but this circuit has some good overtaking opportunities, so I have to be positive for tomorrow and try my best."