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Button Secures First F1 Pole

By Marc • April 24, 2004

A perfect lap by Jenson Button in qualifying for tomorrow’s San Marino Grand Prix has seen the BAR star secure his (and his team’s) maiden pole position. Button’s 1:19.753 was comfortably faster than the lead Ferrari of Michael Schumacher, with the Briton clearly benefiting from aerodynamic improvements to the BAR005 which have allowed BAR to enjoy a highly competitive start in Imola. Schumacher finished second with a laptime of 1:20.011, 0.258s slower than Button and 0.201s quicker than Williams’ Juan Pablo Montoya (pasesetter in the first qualifying session). Rubens Barrichello claimed the fourth quickest time whilst Ralf Schumacher and Fernando Alonso will line-up alongside each other on the fifth row of the grid. Takuma Sato (seventh), Mark Webber (eighth), Jarno Trulli (ninth) and Cristiano da Matta (tenth) round out the session’s top ten which established arguably the most interesting grid of the season to date.

While this report from F1 NewsWire sums up todays action it is slightly misleading for anyone that missed the broadcast. Button “clearly benefiting” from a Schumacher near spin into the gravel trap is closer to the truth. The fact Button BAR team-mate Sato posted a time over a second slower suggests the “aerodynamic improvements” are clearly not a factor. I suspect the BAR bosses looked to build on Jensons recent podium finishes, gave him a lighter fuel load, and said, got get’em kid.

Qualifying Results

01. BUTTON - BAR 1′19″753
02. M.SCHUMACHER - Ferrari 1′20″011
03. MONTOYA - Williams 1′20″212
04. BARRICHELLO - Ferrari 1′20″451
05. R.SCHUMACHER - Williams 1′20″538
06. ALONSO - Renault 1′20″895
07. SATO - BAR Honda 1′20″913
08. WEBBER - Jaguar 1′20″921
09. TRULLI - Renault 1′21″034
10. DA MATTA - Toyota 1′21″087
11. COULTHARD - McLaren 1′21″091
12. MASSA - Sauber 1′21″532
13. PANIS - Toyota 1′21″558
14. KLIEN - Jaguar 1′21″949
15. PANTANO - Jordan 1′23″352
16. HEIDFELD - Jordan 1′23″488
17. BRUNI - Minardi 1′26″899
18. BAUMGARTNER - Minardi 1′46″299
19. FISICHELLA - Sauber DNQ
20. RAIKKONEN - McLaren DNQ

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