F1: Button grabs pole as Vettel trails in 11th

Button, who won the season’s opening GP in Australia, overcame earlier balance problems to grab his first pole of the season, the eighth of his career, and his first ever for McLaren.

“It’s been quite a long time since I got my last pole position, back in 2009 in Monaco. It’s been emotional,” said Button, who won the F1 title that year with the Brawn team. “Maybe a five-week break between every race is what I need – I’m getting old now,” quipped the 32-year-old, referring to F1’s long lay-off since the  Hungarian GP in July.

Button seemed to be struggling earlier in the day with the understeering of his car, but got it right when it mattered with a best lap of 1 minute, 47.573.

“A great qualifying session, the engineers have really been on it today,” Button said. “It’s difficult to find a car that works for me in qualifying but when it does we get pole position.”

It has been one of the most unpredictable seasons for years, and that trend looks set to continue in Spa with unheralded drivers Kamui Kobayashi of Japan and Pastor Maldonado of Venezuela finishing second and third, respectively.

Williams driver Maldonado, competing in only his second F1 season, has a good chance to secure his second victory of the campaign after winning the Spanish GP in May.

Vettel’s bid to catch championship leader Fernando Alonso looks to have taken another blow, while his Red Bull team-mate Mark Webber will start the race with a five-place grid penalty.

“There was no problem, I just wasn’t quick enough,” Vettel said. “The speed wasn’t there.”

Alonso was sixth in qualifying behind Sergio Perez and Kimi Raikkonen.

With little time to practice on Friday because of heavy rain, some drivers found themselves at odds with their cars yesterday.

Button complained to his McLaren team that “we’ve got to look at the balance,” and Scottish driver Paul di Resta struggled to keep his Force India under control, mentioning to his team how the car kept “dancing about a lot.”

Di Resta, from West Lothian, starts in tenth position, three places behind team-mate Nico Hulkenberg and two behind fellow Briton and former champion Lewis Hamilton.