Jenson Button was somewhat puzzled to be only sixth on the grid and six tenths of a second slower than team-mate Lewis Hamilton in qualifying for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The 2009 Champion will be sharing the third row of the grid with Kimi Räikkönen.
Whereas Button had finished second when Hamilton topped both the first and third practice sessions, the former was unable to match that speed throughout qualifying.
“I was struggling with a lot,” he admitted. “We had understeer turning in and very poor traction…then I was locking up both the fronts and the rears. Obviously, the car is very quick but I’m five or six tenths off Lewis and that’s a lot of lap time.
“It’s going to be difficult now. I’ve been happy with it all weekend and the pace has been good, but in qualifying it just wasn’t there for me and I’m not sure why; if I knew, I would have sorted it out, so for the moment I just don’t know.”
Button’s title attack is already mathematically dead for 2012. So far this season he has won two Grands Prix: the Australian season-opener and Round 12 in Belgium.
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| Pos. | Driver | Team | Time | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. |  L. Hamilton | McLaren | 01:40.630 | 15 |
| 2. | M. Webber | Red Bull | 01:40.978 | 17 |
| 3. | P. Maldonado | Williams | 01:41.226 | 22 |
| 4. | K. Raikkonen | Lotus | 01:41.260 | 20 |
| 5. | J. Button | McLaren | 01:41.290 | 20 |
| 6. | F. Alonso | Ferrari | 01:41.582 | 17 |
| 7. | N. Rosberg | Mercedes | 01:41.603 | 17 |
| 8. | F. Massa | Ferrari | 01:41.723 | 17 |
| 9. | R. Grosjean | Lotus | 01:41.778 | 24 |
| 10. | N. Hulkenberg | Force India | 01:42.019 | 16 |
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| Jenson Button | |||
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| More Jenson Button photos | |||
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