Suzuka, Japan - Jenson Button's hopes of being crowned world champion on Sunday at the Japanese Grand Prix suffered a setback Saturday as race stewards gave him a five-place penalty for not slowing down during a yellow flag phase during qualifying. The Brawn GP driver, who will have to start Sunday's race in 12th place, was one of five drivers who was penalized.
Button's teammate Rubens Barrichello, who is his main title rival, was also hit with a five-place penalty, as was Force India's Adrian Sutil, Renault's Fernando Alonso and Red Bull's Sebastien Buemi.
In a statement, the sports' governing body FIA said that Button, Sutil, Alonso and Barrichello had been penalized by race stewards for failing to slow adequately when yellow flags were shown following Buemi's accident near the end of Saturday's second round of qualifying.
"The accident littered the circuit with debris and Buemi was also reprimanded for impeding other drivers and driving back to the pits with a damaged car," FIA said, adding that the final starting grid would only be published on Sunday morning.
As a result of the penalty Sutil will start from ninth, Barrichello from 10th, Button 12th, Buemi 15th and Alonso 17th, though these positions could change later, as McLaren-Mercedes were considering changing the gearbox on Heikki Kovalainen's car.
With just three races of the season remaining, Button leads the standings' with 84 points from Barrichello, who is on 69 points. Sebastian Vettel, who is on pole for Sunday's race, is third on 59 points.
If Button finishes the race with five more points than Barrichello, he would be crowned world champion on Sunday.
