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Button on pole again

FORMULA ONE / Raikkonen second

— Photo: AFP

ON TOP: Jenson Button celebrates after taking pole position for the Monaco Grand Prix.

MONTE CARLO: World championship leader Jenson Button grabbed pole position on Saturday for Sunday’s Monaco Grand Prix with a perfectly-timed hot lap in the final seconds of qualifying.

The 29-year-old Englishman delivered a best time of one minute and 14.902 seconds in his Brawn GP car to secure his fourth pole in six races this year and the seventh of his career.

He outpaced nearest rival Finn Kimi Raikkonen of Ferrari by two-hundredths of a second in a dramatic conclusion to a keenly fought session.

Button’s Brazilian teammate Rubens Barrichello was third ahead of Germany’s Sebastian Vettel in a Red Bull and Brazilian Felipe Massa in the second Ferrari.

There was further woe, meanwhile, for British reigning champion Lewis Hamilton of McLaren, who crashed out of qualifying in the first session.

Abu Dhabi ready

Meanwhile, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix organisers are ready to stage Formula One’s season finale at night.

The inaugural race, which closes the 17-race calendar, will be held at the newly-built Yas Marina circuit on November 1.

“We have the possibility to do it,” circuit boss Philippe Gurdjian said on Saturday. “Lights will be in place.”

New boys on the block

Also, USF1 officially have entered its bid to be one of 13 teams in next season’s championship.

The American entry, which currently has 25 employees, is developing its car for the 2010 campaign, when teams can opt to sign up to a proposed $60 million budget cap. USF1 would not divulge whether it had agreed to enter under this plan.

Top ten: 1. Jenson Button (Brawn-Mercedes); 2. Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari); 3. Rubens Barrichello (Brawn-Mercedes); 4. Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull-Renault); 5. Felipe Massa (Ferrari); 6. Nico Rosberg (Williams-Toyota); 7. Heikki Kovalainen (McLaren-Mercedes); 8. Mark Webber (Red Bull-Renault); 9. Fernando Alonso (Renault); 10. Kazuki Nakajima (Williams-Toyota; 13. Giancarlo Fisichella (Force India-Mercedes); 15. Adrian Sutil (Force India-Mercedes). — Agencies

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