Brits on Pole

Jenson Button couldn’t pull a rabbit out of the hat in the final qualifying session of the season and will start the Brazilian Grand Prix a disappointing - and disappointed - 16th.

He said: “Not a great qualifying session for me today which reflects that we have been off the pace pretty much all weekend.

“The car has a consistent lack of grip and unfortunately we haven’t been able to improve the set-up to overcome this. It will be a tough race from 16th so we will just have to see what opportunities the race presents.”

Team-mate Rubens Barrichello had more success, being bumped from the top 10 in the last seconds of the second session, and will start 11th.

Honda Engineering Director Jacky Eeckelaert said: “This morning we were able to work on the car balance in dry conditions on both prime and option tyres. Rubens was immediately pleased with his set-up, while Jenson was unable to find a good balance through the lap.

“In qualifying it was disappointing for Rubens to miss out on a place in Q3 by less than 0.05s and to find Jenson still struggling with an unpredictable balance.

“The hotter ambient temperatures in the afternoon affected the car balance a little more than we anticipated but we will work to find a strategy that gives us the best possible chance in the final race of the season tomorrow.”

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