May 23, 2009

Formula One drivers championship leader Jenson Button grabbed pole position for the Monaco Grand Prix on Sunday with a perfectly timed hot lap in the final seconds of qualifying.

The 29-year-old Englishman delivered a best time of 1min 14.902sec in his Brawn GP car on Saturday to secure his fourth pole in six races this year, and the seventh of his career.

He outpaced nearest rival Kimi Raikkonen, of Ferrari, by 0.02sec in a dramatic conclusion to a keenly fought session.

"I think Jenson is getting into the habit of saving the best for last," Brawn team chief Ross Brawn said.

"He knew that was the lap where he had to produce it, and he's just driving exceptionally well at the moment."

Button's Brawn teammate, Brazilian Rubens Barrichello, was third-fastest ahead of Sebastian Vettel, of Red Bull, and Felipe Massa in the second Ferrari.

German Nico Rosberg was sixth-fastest for Williams, with Heikki Kovalainen seventh for McLaren-Mercedes ahead of Australia's Mark Webber in the second Red Bull, two-time world champion Fernando Alonso, of Renault, and Japan's Kazuki Nakajima in the second Williams.

McLaren No.1 Lewis Hamilton, who won in Monaco in 2008, crashed during the first session and will start 16th.

Button has won four of the first five races to lead Barrichello by 14 points and Vettel trails Button by 18 points in third.

Monaco Grand Prix: Final Qualifying Times
1. Jenson Button (GB) Brawn-Mercedes 1min 14.902sec
2. Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 1min 14.927sec
3. Rubens Barrichello (Bra) Brawn-Mercedes 1min 15.077sec
4. Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull-Renault 1min 15.271sec
5. Felipe Massa (Bra) Ferrari 1min 15.437
6. Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams-Toyota 1min 15.455sec
7. Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) McLaren-Mercedes 1min 15.516sec
8. Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull-Renault 1min 15.653sec
9. Fernando Alonso (Spa) Renault 1min 16.009sec
10. Kazuki Nakajima (Jpn) Williams-Toyota 1min 17.344sec