Button feared watery end to Monaco pole lap

By Alan Baldwin

MONACO (Reuters) - Formula One leader Jenson Button said he pushed so hard for pole position at the Monaco Grand Prix on Saturday he was in danger of ending up in the harbour.

The Brawn GP driver, who had struggled with the car's handling in Thursday practice, put in a sensational lap right at the end of qualifying to deny Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen the top slot.

The pole was the Briton's fourth in six races this season and he won the other three. He said he was "chuffed to bits."

"It was pretty much on the edge," Button said. "I thought I was going to be in the harbour at one point. It was a good lap and I really did get everything out of the car. It is the best lap I have done this weekend.

"It was definitely one of the best laps I've ever done for sure."

Button lives in Monaco, where the risk of ending up in the harbour was once real but is now almost non-existent due to the catch fences, but has never won the glamour race. He finished second in 2004 with BAR.

After winning in Spain earlier this month, he said he would have to be aggressive and change his style for the street circuit. He was ready for a rethink on Saturday, however.

"I tried that in the first session and it didn't really work," he said. "I sort of scraped a few barriers with the rear of the car and it looked pretty cool but the lap time wasn't there.