Jenson Button this afternoon won a closely fought pole position for tomorrow's Monaco grand prix, with Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen returning to the front row in second place, where he will be able to exploit the Kers power boost which Button does not have.

Rubens Barrichello, Button's team-mate at Brawn GP, starts third with Sebastian Vettel fourth in a Red Bull.

Champion Lewis Hamilton starts from 16th after he crashed into the barriers early in the qualifying session, effectively ruining the race in the tight and twisty street circuit.

The following is the grid:


1. Jenson Button (Britain) Brawn - Mercedes 1 min 14.902
2. Kimi Raikkonen (Finland) Ferrari 1:14.927
3. Rubens Barrichello (Brazil) Brawn - Mercedes 1:15.077
4. Sebastian Vettel (Germany) RedBull - Renault 1:15.271
5. Felipe Massa (Brazil) Ferrari 1:15.437
6. Nico Rosberg (Germany) Williams - Toyota 1:15.455
7. Heikki Kovalainen (Finland) McLaren - Mercedes 1:15.516
8. Mark Webber (Australia) RedBull - Renault 1:15.653
9. Fernando Alonso (Spain) Renault 1:16.009
10. Kazuki Nakajima (Japan) Williams - Toyota 1:17.344


11. Sebastien Buemi (Switzerland) Toro Rosso - Ferrari 1:15.833
12. Nelson Piquet (Brazil) Renault 1:15.837
13. Giancarlo Fisichella (Italy) Force India-Mercedes 1:16.146
14. Sebastien Bourdais (France) Toro Rosso - Ferrari 1:16.281
15. Adrian Sutil (Germany) Force India-Mercedes 1:16.545


16. Lewis Hamilton (Britain) McLaren - Mercedes 1:16.264
17. Nick Heidfeld (Germany) BMW Sauber 1:16.264
18. Robert Kubica (Poland) BMW Sauber 1:16.405
19. Jarno Trulli (Italy) Toyota 1:16.548
20. Timo Glock (Germany) Toyota 1:16.788





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