despite sitting relatively clear of danger in 14th place,

Jenson Button says Hondas upgraded engine can take some of the credit for his pace on Friday, which was better than Kimi Raikkonens Ferrari in FP2s long runs.Honda spent seven tokens ahead of this weekends Belgian Grand Prix, a significant upgrade for the race at Spa. Button finished FP2 in ninth, less than 0.2s behind Raikkonens fastest time in seventh and 1.4s off Max Verstappens benchmark.Asked if Hondas new power unit was the reason for his encouraging showing, he replied: Its definitely some of it. Weve made a lot of progress today. We were massively slow in P1, but in P2 we changed a few things.Our long run was reasonable as well... I dont know about Sebastian [Vettel], but compared to Kimi our long run on the same tyre was quicker. Compared to the other cars around us, like the Haas, we seem relatively competitive on the long run. So its going to be an interesting weekend.Though Button does not expect that pace advantage to continue he is encouraged by the early signs.I think [Ferrari] are probably running too little downforce, tomorrow youll see them more competitive. Ill be surprised if thats the case on Sunday in the race, but I dont think were in a bad position. Theres still a lot of room for improvement.The encouraging day was overshadowed somewhat by problems for Buttons teammate Fernando Alonso, who missed most of FP1 after his new power unit suffered a water leak. However, Button is satisfied Alonsos issues are not related to the upgrade.No, its not a new engine issue -- we had an issue like this in winter testing. Its not just this spec of engine. I think as soon as the engines running fine youre OK, but it happens very early on, that issue, so this engine should be no problem at all.Alonso had a new power unit fitted for FP2 -- one which has landed him a grid penalty for Sundays race -- and recovered from his morning setback to record 30 laps. Babe Herman Womens Jersey . Dusautoir, the former World Player of the Year, sustained a torn bicep playing for Toulouse in the Heineken Cup on Saturday. The flanker, who has played 65 times for France, is expected to be out for up to four months. Clayton Kershaw Dodgers Jersey .5 seconds to play in the game, Kevin Love never stopped believing that they would come out of there with a win. http://www.ladodgersprostore.us/Maury-Wills-dodgers-jersey/ . The Masters champion and winner of last weeks Australian PGA has a three-round total of 14-under 199 at Royal Melbourne. "Im in a really good position for tomorrow," Scott said. Joc Pederson Youth Jersey . He says so-called TRT is only one problem and he wants to go even further than the ban. "Its about time," St-Pierre told reporters at a promotional event in Montreal on Friday. "I think its a good thing. Maury Wills Dodgers Jersey . Westbrook has missed 27 games since having a procedure on Dec. 27 to deal with swelling in his injured right knee — the third operation on the knee in nine months. WASHINGTON -- The Nationals have exercised their $12 million option on left-hander Gio Gonzalez.Washington also said Thursday it had declined its $3 million option for reliever Yusmeiro Petit, who gets a $500,000 buyout.The 31-year-old Gonzalez was 11-11 with a 4.57 ERA this season, throwing 177 1/3 innings in 32 starts.He has won at least 10 games in each of his five seasons with the Nationals, including a high of 21 in 2012.For his career, Gonzaalez is 102-77 with a 3.dddddddddddd73 ERA with Oakland and Washington.Petit was 3-5 with a 4.50 ERA across 62 innings, including one start and one save. He was left off Washingtons roster for its NL Division Series loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers.Petits option would have become guaranteed if he had pitched 80 innings. ' ' '