JENSON BUTTON believes his experience around Suzuka can give him a crucial edge following yesterday’s rain-affected practice as he looks to take a step closer to securing his first world championship in Japan.

Following a damp morning session, persistent heavy rain saw limited running for all teams in the afternoon run as they sought to conserve their wet tyres in case the inclement weather persists into today’s qualifying and tomorrow’s 53-lap race, with Brawn GP electing to keep both Button and team-mate Rubens Barrichello in the garage.

With the last two Japanese GPs having been held at Fuji, it means a large proportion of the current grid have yet to drive around the 3.608-mile track in the dry conditions predicted for the weekend’s action.

Button, on the other hand, has contested six Formula One grands prix around the iconic circuit and has enjoyed a string of strong drives.

While that will not give the 29- year-old the upper hand over title rival Barrichello – he needs to gain five points on the veteran Brazilian to clinch the drivers’ crown – it can help him collect at least enough points to maintain a sizeable advantage going into the penultimate round at Interlagos.

Button said: ‘‘There are lots of people here that haven’t done much running here in an F1 car, or no running at all, so that’s a good thing and makes it exciting for sure.

‘‘I just hope we can get a good balance for qualifying straight off, so that’s why were doing a lot of work now, to make sure that we have the balance correct.

‘‘It’s very difficult trying to balance the car in the wet thinking it’s going to be the same in the dry. It’s very different and that’s part of the reason why we didn’t run this afternoon.’’ Button has maintained a relaxed demeanour throughout his pursuit of a maiden drivers’ title and heads into the race with a 15-point cushion over Barrichello. And the Englishman insisted that remains the case.