F1 News
Date: 1/September/2012
Jenson Button took his first ever pole as a McLaren driver after a dominant qualifying performance for the Belgian F1 Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps.
Having safely cleared Q1, Button signalled his speed by becoming the only driver to break the 1m 48s mark on his way to the top in Q2, then improved further during the pole-deciding Q3 shootout.
Button, who joined McLaren in 2010, said: “It’s a very special circuit for all of us and to get a pole position here does mean a lot, especially because it’s been quite a long time for me. Monaco 2009, I think.
“I know the race is tomorrow, but this feels close to winning a race for me because it’s been so long.”
Kamui Kobayashi (Sauber) and Pastor Maldonado (Williams) surprised by joining Button in setting a 1m 47s lap, but Button remained almost 0.3s out of reach.
No less than three of Button’s lap would have been quick enough for pole, but the 13-time grand prix winner was at a loss to explain why:
“If I knew, it would make everything great! We just got the balance right this morning. The car’s been working really well all day. I obviously have a style where it’s often quite difficult to find a car that works for me in qualifying, but when it does we can get pole position.”
Button, winner of the opening round in Australia, is now looking to revive his season after slipping back to seventh in the championship.
“A lot of people have asked me if I can still fight for the championship. It is a long shot; I'm 80 points behind Fernando,” said Button.
“I need to be on the podium and finishing in front of Fernando at every race for the rest of the season, which is not easy, given his consistency but this is a good start.
“Yeah, a win is very important tomorrow, to fight for the championship.”
Victory on Sunday would also ease mounting speculation that Button will soon be asked to support team-mate Lewis Hamilton’s title challenge.
Hamilton is fourth in the championship - and 41 points ahead of Button - but will start only seventh on the grid.
“It's only the halfway point and maybe we haven't had enough to talk about over the five-week break so you get asked unusual questions,” Button said of the speculation.
“I'm sure Lewis is disappointed to be where he is [on the grid]. But for me, a great day and hopefully this makes our life a little bit easier tomorrow.”
Like Button, World Championship leader Fernando Alonso is yet to win at Spa, a circuit considered by many to offer the purest driving challenge.
After Friday’s practice washout, Alonso had been fastest in Saturday morning practice but was never in serious pole contention and qualified sixth for Ferrari.
The good news for Alonso was that nearest title rival Mark Webber could only manage seventh - and will be demoted to twelfth due to a gearbox-change penalty.
Red Bull team-mate and 2011 winner Sebastian Vettel will line-up in tenth, while fellow German Michael Schumacher will start his 300th grand prix from 13th on the grid for Mercedes.
Schumacher is the most successful driver at Spa, with six wins between 1992 and 2002.
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