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Jenson Button celebrated his 50th Formula One race for McLaren by ending a three-year wait and taking pole position in qualifying at the Belgian Grand Prix on Saturday.
The pole was Button's first since the 2009 Monaco Grand Prix, the year in which he won a memorable championship with Brawn GP, and his first at McLaren and at the majestic Spa circuit.
Japan's Kamui Kobayashi put his Sauber on the front row, a career best for him and only the second time a Japanese driver has qualified so high on the grid, alongside the Briton with Venezuelan Pastor Maldonado in third place for Williams.
"It's been quite a long time since I got my last pole position," grinned Button, who whooped with delight after being told he was 'P1' over the team radio, on a sunlit afternoon after heavy rain washed out Friday practice.
"It's pretty emotional...it's so important to come back after such a long break with a good result on Saturday," added the Briton, referring to the August shutdown following the previous race in Hungary in July.
"I know the race is tomorrow but this is close to winning a grand prix for me, it's been so long," said Button, who had complained in final practice that his car lacked balance.
ALONSO SIXTH
Button, who now has eight career poles to his credit, is only seventh in the championship and a massive 88 points adrift of Ferrari's overall leader Fernando Alonso but has refused to give up hope.
The Briton has never won at Spa and nor has Alonso, who can rack up a record-equalling 24th successive points finish on Sunday and who qualified in sixth place behind the two Ferrari-powered Saubers.
Alonso's closest title rival, Red Bull's Australian Mark Webber, was seventh fastest but has a five place penalty due to an unscheduled gearbox change.
Kimi Raikkonen, the driver with the best record at Spa in recent years with four wins at the longest circuit on the calendar, qualified fourth for Lotus ahead of Sauber's Mexican Sergio Perez.
Sauber's form was an eye-opener, with Kobayashi only the second Japanese ever to start a grand prix on the front row. The other was Takuma Sato who qualified second for the 2004 European Grand Prix at Nuerburgring.
"We expected a good weekend, but not to be second in qualifying. We expected a strong result, so we have a good chance in the race," said Kobayashi, who was just three tenths off Button's time.
The Swiss team have not qualified on the front row this century, with their last - and only second ever - appearance at the sharpest end of the grid coming at the 1999 French Grand Prix with Frenchman Jean Alesi.
Maldonado's third place was his best qualifying since he started on pole in Spain in May.
Button's team mate Lewis Hamilton will start seventh, helped by Webber's penalty.
"We opted to use an old wing this weekend. After P3 (final practice), the new one wasn't feeling so great. We went to the old wing and it was an awful lot slower," said the 2008 champion who won in Budapest from pole before the break.
Red Bull's double world champion Sebastian Vettel failed to make the final phase of qualifying but will start 10th due to his team mate's demotion to 12th.
Further back, there was dismay for Mercedes who saw Nico Rosberg fail to get through the first session. The German will start 23rd due to a five place penalty.
His illustrious team mate Michael Schumacher, celebrating his 300th grand prix at the circuit where he made his debut in 1991, starts 13th.
Photograph: McLaren Formula One driver Jenson Button of Britain celebrates his pole position after the qualifying session of the Belgian F1 Grand Prix in Spa Francorchamps on Saturday. (REUTERS/Sebastien Pirlet)
