But he slipped down to ninth after a messy first lap.

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He aborted his last flying lap and finished down in ninth place, nearly half a second off Massa's time.

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Anthony Davidson produces a fine lap and is up to ninth.

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Button qualified only fifth in Spain, and a poor first lap put him down to ninth, from where he was not able to use the full performance of the car.

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Fernando Alonso was only ninth fastest and Monaco winner Jarno Trulli failed to complete his lap because of problems with the electronics in his steering wheel, which affected the gearbox.

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Reigning world champion Sebastian Vettel also adopted the same tire strategy but didn't complete a timed lap in Q3 to end up one place behind Button in ninth.

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They'd arrived at the stadium wanting an opening-day triumph and a ninth closed out by the elegant Mariano Rivera, now 43 and embarked upon his farewell lap.

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