Traffic spoils Button's efforts

It was Button, and the team's, worst qualifying session of the season.

"It was all about traffic!" said Button. "I lost my first run because of the red flag, and at the end I just went out at the wrong time. The car felt good, but there was traffic in front of me and behind, and I lost a lot of time at the start and the end of the lap. There was nothing I could do - I was unlucky today."

Team-mate Jarno Trulli was forced to take to the spare car after the engine let go in his race chassis. The blow up coated Turns 8 and 9 in oil, which led to the session being stopped.

"I want to apologise for the red flag," said the Italian. "The engine let go suddenly, and there was really nothing I could do to control the car. I then jumped into the spare, which was set up for Jenson, and even though the team managed to change almost everything, I still struggled a little with brakes I'm not used to. I did the best I could in the circumstances."

The Italian will start tomorrow's (Sunday) race from 16th place