Button pips Vettel to Spanish GP pole

By Alan Baldwin

BARCELONA (Reuters) - Championship leader Jenson Button put himself on pole position for a fourth win in five races on Saturday after a last-gasp duel with Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel at the Spanish Grand Prix.

The driver starting on pole in Barcelona has gone on to win in the past eight years and 13 times in the past 14.

It could easily have been Vettel as Button left the pits late and blasted across the finish line to start his final timed lap a mere 1.6 seconds before the session ended.

"It could have gone very, very wrong...I think I just got across the line with a couple of seconds to spare, more luck than judgement," Button said. "It's a little bit of a surprise to be on pole."

Germany's Vettel, the only other driver to have won this season, will have a heavier car but several laps more fuel for the first stint than Button. The published weights showed the Red Bull at 651.5kg compared to Button's 646.0.

"I would have wished to have the pole but at the last minute he took it away," said Vettel.

Button's team mate Rubens Barrichello qualified third, with Felipe Massa alongside on an all-Brazilian second row for revived champions Ferrari. Massa's car was the heaviest of the top four, weighing in at 655 kg with Barrichello on 649.5.

Button, who has a 12-point lead over Barrichello, won from pole in Australia and Malaysia but had not qualified in the top three for the past two races. Saturday's was the sixth pole of his career.