Winning is the only goal for Button

Briton Jenson Button said he had no extra pace to give after he was edged by German Sebastian Vettel for pole position at the Japanese Grand Prix on Saturday but vowed he would drive to win in Suzuka.

The McLaren driver missed out on his first pole position since the 2009 Monaco Grand Prix after finishing just 0.009secs behind Vettel at Suzuka, with the Red Bull driver taking his 12th pole of the season.

While he admitted to being frustrated by the small margin, Button said he delivered the best lap he could at the end of qualifying.

"I'm satisfied, because I feel like I got everything I could from the car; there was nothing left. I don't feel like I made any mistakes out there," he said.

"I don't feel it was a missed opportunity because I don't feel that I left anything out there. I'm disappointed to be so close and not get the pole, but it's been a good weekend for us, and I hope that it continues tomorrow.

"This is the closest I've been to pole all season, but it's still not pole: tomorrow's grid will still be the same distance at the start from first to second place."

Button can still mathematically win the world championship despite Vettel's 124-point lead with five races remaining.

But the Briton would need to win all five races with Vettel finishing 11th or lower in each Grand Prix to steal the title from the German, however Button said his thoughts were on race wins rather than an unlikely title tilt.

"We don't come into this race thinking about a championship -- we come here thinking about a win and feeling we're competitive enough to challenge for a win," he said, adding Turn One could be key to deciding the race.

"Even if Seb clinches the title this weekend, winning is the goal for us now. Sebastian's going to win the championship this weekend, but my aim is to beat him in the race."