Bridgestone 2009 Abu Dhabi GP Qualifying

Lewis Hamilton (Vodafone McLaren Mercedes) has used Bridgestone's medium compound Potenza tyre to blast to the first ever pole position at the dramatic Yas Marina circuit for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Hamilton set a time of 1min 40.948secs and will start tomorrow's race alongside Red Bull Racing driver Sebastian Vettel. The earlier practice session saw Brawn GP Formula 1 Team driver Jenson Button set the fastest time, also using the medium compound.

Q&A with Hirohide Hamashima - Bridgestone Director of Motorsport Tyre Development

What was significant about today's running?
"Today was about further learning the track and it still has a few tricks. We were treated to an exciting qualifying session and one where our harder tyre proved to be the quickest for pole position. Lewis Hamilton did a great job, particularly with his 1min 39.695secs time on the medium in Q2. Track conditions continue to improve so tomorrow's race should be fascinating on many levels."

What are the tyre strategy considerations for tomorrow's race?
"Our information shows that neither tyre suffers particularly from degradation or wear. The medium
tyre is very well suited to this track. It has good grip and its performance is consistent, meaning that lap times should fall as the cars get lighter. Based on the information so far the major race tyre strategy consideration will be minimising use of the soft. However, as the track is still improving so we could see better performance from the soft tomorrow."

Stats of the Day 
Practice Three 14:00 - 15:00
Driver             Team                    Time       Tyre
Jenson Button      Brawn GP Formula 1 Team 1m 40.625s M
Lewis Hamilton     Vodafone McLaren        1m 40.627s S
Rubens Barrichello Brawn GP Formula 1 Team 1m 40.907s M

Qualifying 17:00 - 18:00
Driver             Team                    Time       Tyre
Lewis Hamilton     Vodafone McLaren	   1m 40.948s M
Sebastian Vettel   Red Bull Racing 	   1m 41.615s M
Mark Webber  	   Red Bull Racing  	   1m 41.726s M

Compounds used: Medium / Soft
Temperatures 	 Ambient  Track        	Weather
PM - Practice 3  34C 	  50C-51C-48C 	Sunny
PM - Qualifying  30C-29C  35C-31C 	Sunny / dusk