Canadian GP: Bridgestone Qualifying

Vodafone McLaren Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton powered to pole for the Canadian Grand Prix with Bridgestone's super soft compound Potenza after an epic qualifying battle in Montreal.

Hamilton set his 1min 15.101secs time in the final moments of the session, edging out medium compound-shod Red Bull Racing driver Mark Webber. Hamilton was also fastest in the morning.

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

What was significant about today's running?
"Today we encountered a dirty, cold and slippery track surface in the morning due to overnight rain, and the track was also damp in places. Track conditions improved in the afternoon, but finding grip and getting the tyres to work at their potential is still difficult here in Montreal. The choice of which compound to use in qualifying was the most difficult it has been all season. The two compounds showed different characteristics, but ultimately similar lap times at the front of the grid. The difference in warm-up between the low temperature working range super soft and the higher temperature working range medium was evident in Q3. Lewis set a fantastic pole with the super soft on his second flying lap and Mark was very close to him with a time set with the medium compound on his fourth flying lap."

What are the tyre strategy considerations for tomorrow's race?
"The fastest two cars set their qualifying times on different compounds so they will start the race on different tyres. The medium compound takes longer to warm-up than the super soft, so the initial laps will be interesting. The durability of the super soft at the start of the race will be interesting too. The race start is at 12 noon local time which is probably not going to be the warmest time of the day, which will not assist tyre performance. From the longer run data we have seen we do not predict that the super soft will be very durable, and this and the graining we have seen means it is unlikely that we will see one stop strategies. Of course, there is also the possibility of rain. As ever, Montreal is providing everyone with a very big challenge."

Stats of the Day 
Practice Three 10:00 - 11:00
Driver             Team                    Time        Tyre
Lewis Hamilton 	   Vodafone McLaren	   1m 16.058s  SS
Mark Webber 	   Red Bull Racing 	   1m 16.340s  SS
Fernando Alonso    Scuderia Ferrari	   1m 16.495s  M

Qualifying 13:00 - 14:00
Driver             Team                    Time        Tyre
Lewis Hamilton     Vodafone McLaren	   1m 15.105s  SS
Mark Webber 	   Red Bull Racing 	   1m 15.373s  M
Sebastian Vettel   Red Bull Racing 	   1m 15.420s  M

Compounds used: Hard / Soft
Temperatures 	   Ambient    Track	 Weather
AM - Practice 3    18C-20C    20C-21C   Sunny / Cloudy
PM - Qualifying    22C 	      28C-26C   Partly Cloudy / Cloudy