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

Blow for Button as drivers penalised

• Rubens Barrichello also moved five places back on grid• Button will now start 12th with Barrichello in 10thBrawn GP drivers Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello have been penalised five grid places for tomorrow's Japanese grand prix for failing to reduce their speed on seeing the yellow flag on the exit of turn 14 during qualifying at Suzuka, the FIA has confirmed.Button qualified in seventh position originally, with Barrichello two places ahead in fifth, but following the decision they will start from 10th and 12th respectively.The decision is a huge blow for Button who could slinch the world drivers' championship if he finishes five points ahead of Barrichello in Japan. That now looks an extremely unlikely proposition, and the Brazilian will be hopeful that he can fiunish among the points and close the gap on his Brawn team-mate.While conceding he had contravened the regulations, Button felt that driving around the debris was all he could do under the circumstances. "We got a five-place penalty for not slowing down sufficiently after the yellow flag but from my point of view, I did the right thing," he said."I took avoiding action and when I saw the yellow flag, it was just before the front wing so I moved to one side. I thought it was unsafe to lift off because there could have been a car behind because you don't want to be moving across the circuit at high speed and lifting and as soon as I passed the front wing, I saw the green flag down the circuit."That was it. The regulations say you have to slow down enough and you've got to lift off the throttle, which I didn't do so I got penalised. I respect their decision but for me, it was the best thing to do, I had one second to make a decision."Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel starts the race in pole, with Toyoto's Jarno Trulli in second and Lewis Hamilton third for McLaren.Grid positions for Japanese grand prix:1 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull 1min 32.160secs,2 Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota 1:32.220,3 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) McLaren 1:32.395,4 Adrian Sutil (Ger) Force India 1:32.466,5 Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber 1:32.945,6 Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 1:32.980,7 Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) McLaren no time,8 Sebastien Buemi (Swi) Scuderia Toro Rosso no time,9 Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams 1:31.482,10 Rubens Barrichello (Bra) Brawn GP 1:32.660,11 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Renault 1:31.638,12 Jenson Button (Gbr) Brawn GP 1:32.962,13 Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber 1:32.341,14 Timo Glock (Ger) Toyota no time,15 Jaime Alguersuari (Spa) Scuderia Toro Rosso no time,16 Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Ferrari 1:31.704,17 Kazuki Nakajima (Jpn) Williams 1:31.718,18 Romain Grosjean (Fra) Renault 1:32.073,19 Vitantonio Liuzzi (Ita) Force India 1:32.087DNS: 20 Mark Webber (Aus) Red BullJenson ButtonBrawnFormula OneMotor sportguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Button wins Monaco grand prix

• Ruben Barrichello in second, Sebastien Vettel in third• Jenson Button leads world race by 16 points from BarrichelloJenson Button has won the Monaco grand prix for his sixth race victory of the season, putting him 16 points clear of Brawn team-mate Rubens Barrichello in the world championship standings. Barrichello finished secons in Monte Carlo with Red Bull's Sebastien Vettel in third.More to follow...Jenson ButtonFormula oneMotor sportguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Button keeps cool as team rivalry hits home straight

In the Brawn garage ahead of the Japanese grand prix, where Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello are 'at war', you could be forgiven for thinking this was the start of the season rather than the enactment of the endgame that will almost certainly see one of them crowned champion for the first and possibly last time.

Qualifying Review: Brawn GP

Brawn GP’s Jenson Button secured his fourth pole of the season and his best qualifying position ever for the Monaco Grand Prix around the iconic Monte Carlo street circuit today. Team-mate Rubens Barrichello put his Brawn-Mercedes car on the second row of the grid for tomorrow’s 78-lap race with an excellent third position.

Japan GP Review: Brawn GP

Brawn GP moved a step closer to securing the 2009 Constructors’ Championship at the Japanese Grand Prix in Suzuka today. Points-scoring finishes for Rubens Barrichello and Jenson Button in seventh and eighth positions sees the team requiring half a point from the remaining two races to take the title.