Jenson Button visits McLaren HQ

• World champion given a guided tour round McLaren HQ• Button would share equal billing with 2008 world championMcLaren have teed up Jenson Button to partner Lewis Hamilton in their 2010 Formula One line-up and the world champion could be close to turning his back on the Brawn team for whom he won this year's title. Button and his manager, Richard Goddard, today visited the McLaren headquarters at Woking, where they were given an escorted tour of the facilities by Martin Whitmarsh, the team principal. A contract could be signed as early as next week if terms can be finalised, creating the first team with two world champions competing alongside each other since Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost were team-mates at McLaren in 1989."As I've said many times before, Jenson wants to drive a car which is capable of winning the next world championship," said Goddard. "We've been talking about possible terms for 2010 with Brawn for months and we're not being difficult or unreasonably expensive in our demands for Jenson. In fact we've given up quite a lot of negotiating ground in our discussions with them."McLaren have made Kimi Raikkonen their second choice if the Button approach fails, with Nick Heidfeld third favourite.Goddard made it clear that Button was not aiming for the £10m annual fee that drivers such as Hamilton and Fernando Alonso have under the terms of their existing agreements. But it is clear he wants more than the bargain-rate, reputed £4m deal he agreed with the emergent Brawn team before the start of last season to stay on the Formula One grid in a year when he was almost left kicking his heels in the pits with nothing to drive."I think it's also important that Jenson wants to feel valued in whatever situation he finds himself next season," Goddard added. "He needs to explore all the feasible options." A McLaren spokesman said: "Having just arrived at Heathrow, Jenson made a small detour to Woking to say hello."It is understood that Button has moved to the top of McLaren's wish-list over the past couple of months, with Whitmarsh and his fellow directors impressed by his tenacity in regaining his form to round off the season with two outstanding drives in the Brazilian and Abu Dhabi grands prix.However, Niki Lauda, who won the last of his three world championships with McLaren in 1984, and was paired there with Prost for two years, believes that Button would be best served in the long run by continuing to negotiate with Brawn. "One of the problems faced by drivers today is that there is generally less money around in the business than there was," he said. "So if I was Jenson, I would try to stay with Brawn even if Ross might pay him slightly less than McLaren. Of course, if McLaren are going to pay a lot more, then he must go."But the other thing he must consider is that it is Lewis's team and he needs to be sure he has the confidence to deal with this. It is a tough decision for Jenson and he needs to think it through carefully."McLaren also played host to Raikkonen on Wednesday when the 2007 world champion visited their base with his managers, David and Steve Robertson. The Robertsons – father and son – have an impressive reputation as negotiators, having not only secured Raikkonen an income of around £27m from Ferrari in 2008 but also cleverly inserted a clause in his contract whereby Ferrari were obliged to exercise their option to keep him in 2010 if he scored a certain number of championship points by the middle of 2008.That led to the current situation whereby Ferrari have chosen to pay off Raikkonen's contract for a figure believed to be between £15 and £17m to make room for Alonso. Raikkonen previously drove for McLaren from 2002-06.If Button should eventually join McLaren he would do so on equal footing to Hamilton as the team have always given absolute parity of equipment to their drivers and both would be permitted to race unfettered for grand prix wins and the world championship.Heidfeld, who was a McLaren test driver in the late 1990s, and the incumbent Heikki Kovalainen are also under consideration as potential candidates for the seat alongside Hamilton, although very much as outsiders.Formula OneJenson ButtonMcLarenBrawnAlan Henryguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Lewis Hamilton's first pole of 2009

• Hamilton follows up win in Hungary with pole in Valencia• Heikki Kovalainen will start second in McLaren one-twoLewis Hamilton claimed his first pole position of the season as McLaren locked out the front row for tomorrow's European grand prix in Valencia.The reigning world champion, fresh from winning his first race of the season last time out in Hungary, posted a time of one minute 39.498 seconds to beat Heikki Kovalainen to top spot by less than a tenth of a second."Clearly, we have very, very good pace this weekend," said Hamilton. "We thought we would be competitive, but I don't think we thought we'd be on the front row. We've not had a one-two qualifying experience for quite a long time, so it's great to be here."Despite the turnaround in McLaren's fortunes, Hamilton insists there is no question of him getting carried away. "For sure, going into tomorrow we stand in the best position for a podium, but it all depends of strategy and how the start and the race goes."Brawn GP's Rubens Barrichello will start behind Hamilton and Kovalainen in third, with Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel fourth and championship leader Jenson Button fifth. Home favourite Fernando Alonso will be disappointed with eighth place for Renault.Elsewhere, Adrian Sutil's rapid practice pace failed to convert into anything more than 12th on the grid for Force India, Renault debutant Romain Grosjean had to settle for 14th and Felipe Massa's stand-in Luca Badoer suffered a torrid return to Formula One. Back behind the wheel of a grand prix car for the first time in a decade, the 38-year-old Ferrari test driver qualified last on the grid."I was hoping for better, but that more or less was the range," the Italian said. "We were expecting this. One year without driving and a new track, what could I do? This race is a test. I have to be better in the next race."Positions after qualifying:1 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) McLaren 1min 39.498secs, 2 Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) McLaren 1:39.532, 3 Rubens Barrichello (Bra) Brawn GP 1:39.563, 4 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull 1:39.789, 5 Jenson Button (Gbr) Brawn GP 1:39.821, 6 Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 1:40.144, 7 Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams 1:40.185, 8 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Renault 1:40.236, 9 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull 1:40.239, 10 Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber 1:40.512, 11 Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber 1:38.826, 12 Adrian Sutil (Ger) Force India 1:38.846, 13 Timo Glock (Ger) Toyota 1:38.991, 14 Romain Grosjean (Fra) Renault 1:39.040, 15 Sebastien Buemi (Swi) Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:39.514, 16 Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Force India 1:39.531, 17 Kazuki Nakajima (Jpn) Williams 1:39.795, 18 Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota 1:39.807, 19 Jaime Alguersuari (Spa) Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:39.925, 20 Luca Badoer (Ita) Ferrari 1:41.413Formula OneLewis HamiltonMcLarenMotor sportguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Lewis Hamilton on pole in Singapore

• Hamilton quickest ahead of Sebastian Vettel and Nico Rosberg• Button qualifies 12th two places behind Rubens BarrichelloLewis Hamilton secured pole for the Singapore grand prix but there was disappointment for championship leader, Jenson Button, whose world title hopes were dealt a blow by qualifying in 12th place on the grid.Hamilton, whose engineers worked through the night to fit a new chassis for his McLaren, impressed in practice and took that form into qualifying as he clocked a time of 1min 47.891sec in Q3 at the Marina Bay street circuit.In contrast, Button had struggled in practice after his Brawn car had been switched to the same set-up as team-mate Rubens Barrichello. Though they reverted it to yesterday's settings, the 29-year-old failed to threaten, with Sebastian Vettel's Red Bull taking second and the Williams of Nico Rosberg third.Barrichello, who will be looking to cut into Button's 14-point lead tomorrow, was fifth fastest before crashing with 26 seconds of qualifying remaining but will start from 10th on the grid tomorrow after being hit with a five-place grid penalty for changing his gearbox prior to the session.Race standings1 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) McLaren 1min 47.891secs, 2 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull 1:48.204, 3 Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams 1:48.348, 4 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull 1:48.722, 5 Rubens Barrichello (Bra) Brawn GP 1:48.828, 6 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Renault 1:49.054, 7 Timo Glock (Ger) Toyota 1:49.180, 8 Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber 1:49.307, 9 Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber 1:49.514, 10 Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) McLaren 1:49.778, 11 Kazuki Nakajima (Jpn) Williams 1:47.013, 12 Jenson Button (Gbr) Brawn GP 1:47.141, 13 Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 1:47.177, 14 Sebastien Buemi (Swi) Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:47.369, 15 Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota 1:47.413, 16 Adrian Sutil (Ger) Force India 1:48.231, 17 Jaime Alguersuari (Spa) Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:48.340, 18 Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Ferrari 1:48.350, 19 Romain Grosjean (Fra) Renault 1:48.544, 20 Vitantonio Liuzzi (Ita) Force India 1:48.792Note: Rubens Barrichello will start the race in 10th position following a five place penalty for a gearbox replacement.Formula OneLewis HamiltonJenson ButtonMcLarenBrawnMotor sportguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Vettel closes gap on Button in Japan

• Vettel wins from pole with Lewis Hamilton third• Button finishes eighth but stays 14 points clearJenson Button's slow march towards the world title took another step closer to completion in Japan, despite Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel winning from pole. Button, finishing down in eighth, saw his lead cut by a point, but remains 14 clear with just two races to go.Vettel kept alive his outside chance of winning the drivers' championship, moving to within 16 points of Button. The German crossed the line ahead of Jarno Trulli's Toyota with Lewis Hamilton in third for McLaren.Vettel's third win of the season helped to close the gap at the top, but Button's Brawn team-mate, Rubens Barrichello, remains the Briton's closest challenger having crossed the line a place ahead in seventh.Brawn could have wrapped up the constructors' title, but were denied after the safety car was brought on to the track with five laps to go. Button, however, was unhappy with Williams' Nico Rosberg, for allegedly setting his fastest sector time while drivers were under restrictions – an issue the race stewards were looking in to.As things stand, Brawn will need just half a point more to claim the crown when the teams move on to Brazil in two weeks' time, while Button could secure his first world title merely by keeping pace with Barrichello and Vettel.Race standings1 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull 01:28:20.443; 2 Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota 01:28:25.243; 3 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) McLaren 01:28:26.843; 4 Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 01:28:28.343; 5 Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams 01:28:29.143; 6 Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber 01:28:29.943; 7 Rubens Barrichello (Bra) Brawn GP 01:28:31.043; 8 Jenson Button (Gbr) Brawn GP 01:28:31.843; 9 Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber 01:28:32.143; 10 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Renault 01:28:33.443; 11 Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) McLaren 01:28:34.143; 12 Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Ferrari 01:28:34.943; 13 Adrian Sutil (Ger) Force India 01:28:35.343; 14 Vitantonio Liuzzi (Ita) Force India 01:28:36.143; 15 Kazuki Nakajima (Jpn) Williams 01:28:38.343Not Classified: 16 Romain Grosjean (Fra) Renault +1 lap; 17 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull +2 laps; 18 Jaime Alguersuari (Spa) Scuderia Toro Rosso +10 laps; 19 Sebastien Buemi (Swi) Scuderia Toro Rosso +42 lapsDNS: 20 Timo Glock (Ger) ToyotaWorld championship standings1 Jenson Button (Gbr) Brawn GP 85.0pts; 2 Rubens Barrichello (Bra) Brawn GP 71.0; 3 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull 69.0; 4 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull 51.5; 5 Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 45.0; 6 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) McLaren 43.0; 7 Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams 34.5; 8 Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota 30.5; 9 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Renault 26.0; 10 Timo Glock (Ger) Toyota 24.0; 11 Felipe Massa (Bra) Ferrari 22.0; 12 Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) McLaren 22.0; 13 Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber 15.0; 14 Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber 9.0; 15 Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Ferrari 8.0; 16 Adrian Sutil (Ger) Force India 5.0; 17 Sebastien Buemi (Swi) Scuderia Toro Rosso 3.0; 18 Sebastien Bourdais (Fra) Scuderia Toro Rosso 2.0; six drivers on zero pointsFormula OneSebastian VettelJenson ButtonRed BullBrawnMotor sportguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Barrichello beats Button in Italy

• Brazilian takes two points out of Button's title advantage• Hamilton spins out of third place on final lap at MonzaRubens Barrichello gave his championship hopes a modest boost by winning the Italian grand prix at Monza this afternoon while his main rival and Brawn team-mate Jenson Button finished in second place.The Brawn team's decision to put both its drivers on a one-stop strategy paid off as behind them Kimi Raikkonen claimed the final podium position for Ferrari. Third place would have belonged to the polesitter, Lewis Hamilton, but he span his McLaren and crashed on the final lap while chasing Button.As one of only three drivers on a two-stop strategy, the lighter McLaren of Hamilton dominated the early stages of the race as he made a perfect start to maintain his lead. Behind him the front-row starter Adrian Sutil was passed by the third-place starter Kimi Raikkonen – both also one-stopping – and Hamilton steadily built a strong advantage before having to make the first of his two scheduled pit stops. A clean refuel and change to harder tyres on lap 15 let him rejoin in fifth position, behind Button. Raikkonen had stayed out on track for four more laps than Hamilton before pitting, but it was not enough to jump the McLaren.After the lead trio pitted, Barrichello led from Button and the title rivals pushed each other on at such a pace that it already threatened Hamilton's chance of winning the race. Button was the first Brawn to pit, just before the halfway point of the race, with Barrichello following him a lap later and comfortably retaking his position ahead of his British team-mate.The outcome rested on Hamilton's second stop, which McLaren opted to take surprising early on lap 34. Despite a smooth visit to the pits, Hamilton rejoined behind the pair of Brawns and began to chase down second-placed Button in the closing stages until putting a wheel on the kerb at the Lesmo and spinning. Ahead of them Barrichello maintained his lead to take the flag for his second victory of the year and carve two points out of Button's championship lead with four races remaining. The one-two finish also strengthens Brawn's advantage in the constructors' battle."It just feels really good," said Barrichello. "It was a great decision yesterday [to opt for a two-stop strategy] as the guys with Kers [Hamilton and Raikkonen] have 20 metres on us at the start so we had to bear that in mind. Luckily I had a good start and the pace was good enough to be in the front of them by the last pit stops."His title rival Button said: "Rubens did a better job [than me]. But second is good, and I gained seven points on [Sebastian] Vettel. He [Barrichello] is my closest rival. We've got a good relationship but we are competitive."Behind them Force India's Sutil finished in fourth place after a great battle with Raikkonen, the pair having suffered difficult second stops, Sutil when his car knocked down a pit crew member and Raikkonen when he appeared to stall his Ferrari. Putting Renault's race-fix scandal to one side, Fernando Alonso finished in fifth place ahead of McLaren's Heikki Kovalainen and BMW Sauber's Nick Heidfeld. Red Bull's Vettel picked up one point with eighth place thanks to Hamilton's error as he suffered another difficult race in his bid to win the world title; he is now 27 points behind Button.Red Bull's other championship contender, Mark Webber, made it no further than the first lap, having been pushed off the track and into retirement by BMW Sauber's Robert Kubica, the Pole later retiring himself. Vitantonio Liuzzi's racing return with Force India was scuppered by a gearbox problem on lap 23, while Giancarlo Fisichella finished just outside the points in ninth place in his race debut for Ferrari.Italian grand prix results:1 Rubens Barrichello, Brawn-Mercedes2 Jenson Button, Brawn-Mercedes3 Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari4 Adrian Sutil, Force India-Mercedes5 Fernando Alonso, Renault6 Heikki Kovalainen, McLaren-Mercedes7 Nick Heidfeld, BMW Sauber8 Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull-Renault9 Giancarlo Fisichella, Ferrari10 Kazuki Nakajima, Williams-Toyota11 Timo Glock, Toyota12 Lewis Hamilton, McLaren-Mercedes13 Sébastien Buemi, Toro Rosso-Ferrari14 Jarno Trulli, Toyota15 Romain Grosjean, Renault16 Nico Rosberg, Williams-ToyotaNot classified:Vitantonio Liuzzi, Force India-MercedesJaime Alguersuari, Toro Rosso-FerrariRobert Kubica, BMW SauberMark Webber, Red Bull-RenaultBrawnJenson ButtonLewis HamiltonFormula OneMotor sportGemma Briggsguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Lewis Hamilton wins Singapore GP

• Hamilton puts in perfect performance to take second win of year• Button steals a march on Barrichello to gain a valuable pointLewis Hamilton scored his second victory of the season at the Singapore grand prix as Jenson Button extended his title lead by one point, to 15, despite a poor qualifying position.McLaren's Hamilton put in a perfect performance to lead home the Toyota of Timo Glock, the German equalling his best-ever finish. Meanwhile Renault's Fernando Alonso gave his team something to cheer about at the circuit that has caused their recent woes by claiming third place.Button followed Sebastian Vettel home, having overhauled his Brawn team-mate Rubens Barrichello at the Briton's last stop, to take fifth. It means he has extended his championship lead by one point with three races remaining as Barrichello finished sixth ahead of Heikki Kovalainen. Robert Kubica picked up the final points position after a late-race battle for eighth, holding off Kazuki Nakajima and Kimi Raikkonen.The 11th-placed finisher Nico Rosberg had been an early contender but his chances of repeating last year's podium finish in Singapore were dashed when the Williams driver crossed the white line while leaving the pits after his first stop. Rosberg had made an excellent start to pass Vettel on the opening lap but was forced down the order thanks to a drive-through penalty.The situation seemed to play into the hands of Vettel, who looked set to challenge Hamilton for the lead, but the Red Bull driver was himself given a drive-through penalty for speeding in the pitlane. He also damaged his car by running wide over a kerb but recovered to finish the race in fourth place, leaving him 25 points behind Button.Mark Webber, who went into the race with slim title hopes, crashed out in the closing stages through brake trouble. The accident led several teams to bring drivers, including Hamilton and Barrichello, into the pits early in case of a safety car period, although this did not transpire.This played into Button's hands as the Brawn driver was able to stay out for a long middle stint and make up ground while his rivals struggled with heavier cars. It had seemed as though Button might challenge Vettel for fourth but the Brawn driver was told to hold back and protect his position."It was a good day for us," said Button. "I was happy to get Kazuki [Nakajima] off the line; that was key for me. I'm happy to get fifth and pull a point on Rubens. I go to Japan very positive for the next race."Lewis HamiltonJenson ButtonMcLarenBrawnFormula OneMotor sportGemma Briggsguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds