Monaco GP: Bridgestone qualifying report

Bridgestone's super soft tyre provided the grip for Brawn GP Formula 1 Team driver Jenson Button to qualify on his fourth pole position of the season for tomorrow's Monaco Grand Prix on the streets of Monte Carlo.

Button set a time of 1min 14.902secs, just over two hundredths faster than Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro driver Kimi Raikkonen. Rubens Barrichello (Brawn GP Formula 1 Team) went third fastest. ING Renault F1 Team driver Fernando Alonso used the super soft tyre to go fastest in the morning practice session with a time of 1min 15.164secs. The difference in lap time between the fastest and slowest driver in this session was a mere 1.7 seconds.

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

What was significant about today's running?

"Today we saw Jenson Button use Bridgestone's super soft tyre for pole position here in Monaco, and as we all know, overtaking is very difficult here so pole is very beneficial. Lap times here were very close. The nature of the circuit means that the balance between mechanical grip and aerodynamic grip is more towards mechanical grip, and the close times show that all the teams can get good results from our tyres. It was also a good day for Ferrari with their first front row qualification of the season."

What are the tyre strategy considerations for tomorrow's race?

"The crucial question is whether the super soft tyre is durable enough to allow a one stop strategy. Our data shows that this should be possible, however a lot depends on track condition and rear tyre transverse graining. The track has changed from Thursday's running but super soft is still around 0.4 seconds faster than the soft Bridgestone. Track temperatures were higher today, but heat degradation is not really a problem here as the track surface is smooth, so not too severe for tyres."

-credit: bridgestone