Newly-acclaimed drivers world champion Briton Jenson Button was left frustrated and disappointed on Saturday after qualifying only fifth on the grid for Sunday's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

The 29-year-old Englishman, who drives for the Brawn GP team, said he had hoped to qualify on the front row of the grid.

Button had secured the drivers' title with his committed drive to fifth in the Brazilian Grand Prix and wanted to celebrate his achievement with a fight for victory in Abu Dhabi.

He blamed his car's handling in the final top ten shootout section of the qualifying hour.

"The car has felt good here all weekend and the first two sessions went well in qualifying," he said.

"Unfortunately in Q3, when we were running with high fuel and new tyres, I started to get massive vibrations every time that I hit the brakes, which made the steering wheel shudder.

"With such a smooth circuit any kind of vibration just leads to under-steer which made the car quite a handful to drive.

"It's frustrating as we had the potential for a better performance and should have been challenging for the first row behind Lewis (Hamilton).

"Hopefully, we can solve the issue before the race and I'm looking forward to a good fight tomorrow."

Button had a new sticker on his helmet saying 'world champion' and he suggested it might not have been such a good idea.

His Brawn team-mate Brazilian Rubens Barrichello was happy with his efforts and fourth place on the grid.

"It was a good qualifying session for us and I'm quite happy with fourth position and what we have achieved," he said.

"The car is still very competitive, but the Red Bulls and McLarens seem to be ahead of us here.

"It's been challenging to get the right set-up throughout the weekend as the sessions are taking place in very different track and ambient conditions.

"The car seems to improve towards the end of the day with the cooler temperatures so we can hope that the track comes towards us tomorrow. It's very close with Sebastian for second position in the championship and I'll be going flat out for the best result."