Button

SPIELBERG, Austria -- Jenson Button's 13th place in qualifying for Sunday's Austrian Grand Prix will be his worst of the season, the Renault driver said.

Button finished three positions higher than his teammate Jarno Trulli as the Anglo-French team struggled to perform around the short and fast A1-Ring.

"I think this will probably be our worst qualifying position of the year," he said after qualifying. "I think throughout the season things are going to get better, especially on the engine side.

"We are going to get more power so when we come back to circuits like this we won't struggle at all. Also the car will be working better. I am not worried about it.

"I think the next race should be better for us, and from then on I don't think we are going to be qualifying this low. I think every race will be in the top ten."

The Renault name returned to Formula One this year after the French car manufacturer purchased the Benetton team.

Button finished fourth in only their second race under their new colours, in Malaysia, then claimed two further points finishes in the following races.

Tough track
The A1-Ring circuit does not suit the Renault because much of its performance is down to its impressive traction rather than the power of its engine.

A large proportion of the 4.326 km Austrian track is spent at full throttle and that makes engine power more important than overall handling.

Its fast straight sections followed by slow corners are said to encourage overtaking opportunities.

Briton David Coulthard won from seventh place on the grid last year, but the young Briton will start Sunday's race from row seven and he believes that overtaking will be difficult.

"We will struggle to be able to pass people," Button said. "It is not going to be possible to get past people when we are braking into the corners."

"With our set-up it is just not that great and there are lots of areas we need to work on to make it work on a circuit like this."