Button on pole for Belgian Grand Prix

Jenson Button took his first pole position for McLaren on Saturday when he clocked the fastest time during qualifying for Sunday’s Belgian Grand Prix. It was the 31-year-old Briton’s first pole in 60 races for the Woking-based team, who endured a tough time, particularly in qualifying during the first half of the season. The 2009 champion clocked a best lap time of the historic Spa Francorchamps circuit of 1min 47.573sec, edging out Japanese Kamui Kobayashi of Sauber by two tenths of a second. Charismatic Venezuelan Pastor Maldonado of Williams was third quickest followed by Finn Kimi Raikkonen of Lotus and Mexican Sergio Perez of Williams. Championship leader Spaniard Fernando Alonso of Ferrari could only manage sixth, closely followed by championship contenders Red Bull driver Australian Mark Webber and 2008 champion Briton Lewis Hamilton in the second McLaren.