British GP: Bridgestone qualifying review

Red Bull Racing’s Sebastian Vettel powered to his fifth pole of the season, using Bridgestone’s soft compound for a scintillating 1m 29.615secs around the new configuration Silverstone circuit for the British Grand Prix.

Vettel will have his Red Bull Racing teammate Mark Webber alongside him for tomorrow’s race. He was also fastest in the morning, using Bridgestone’s hard compound.

Q&A with Hirohide Hamashima – Bridgestone Director of Motorsport Tire Development
What was significant about today’s running?
“Today the track surface continued to improve, both from being cleaned last night and from the many support categories which are racing at this event. Today’s laps in the 1min 29s were very impressive at this new layout. We saw some small blistering on the outside of some left front tires and this shows how severe the new layout is for tires and cars."

What are the tire strategy considerations for tomorrow’s race?
“Both compounds have been working well and it is difficult to know the exact difference between them as the track surface has continued to improve so much. The blistering we have seen is only minor so we do not expect this to be a factor in the race. If it is very hot tomorrow it is possible for the tires to overheat and their performance will suffer if this happens. Track position will play a big part in strategy tomorrow and I am looking forward to the first Grand Prix on Silverstone’s new layout."