Button claims Monaco race for fifth F-1 victory of year

MONACO — Brawn GP’s Jenson Button won the Monaco Grand Prix on Sunday, capturing his fifth victory in six races to extend his Formula One championship lead.

Button crossed the finish line 7.6 seconds ahead of teammate Rubens Barrichello. Button’s fourth start-to-finish victory of the season was the first for a British driver from the pole at the famed street circuit race since Jackie Stewart 36 years ago.

Button leads with 51 points. Barrichello has 35 after his fourth runner-up finish here, and Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel, who crashed out after 16 laps, is third with 23 points.

Kimi Raikkonen gave Ferrari its first top-three finish of the season by taking third, and Felipe Massa was fourth for Ferrari.

Defending F-1 champion Lewis Hamilton, the 2008 Monaco winner, finished 12th after starting last on the 20-car grid.

• NOTE — FIA president Max Mosley said an agreement is near with Formula One teams over the disputed budget cap.

Mosley had wanted teams to agree to a $60 million cap beginning in 2010, but that is expected to be pushed back a year after a weekend of negotiations with the Formula One Teams Association at the Monaco Grand Prix.

Five teams, including Ferrari, have threatened to quit motor racing’s premier sport over the cap, which Mosley is pushing to cut costs.

“I think we are going to get somewhere,” Mosley said.