Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull Racing) has used Bridgestone's super soft compound tyre to blast to the first pole position of 2010 in racing temperatures at the Sakhir circuit for the Bahrain Grand Prix.

Vettel set a time of 1min 54.101secs and will start tomorrow's race alongside Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro driver Felipe Massa. The morning practice session saw Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro driver Fernando Alonso go fastest, using the super soft compound for a 1min 54.099secs.

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

What was significant about today's running?
"Today was very exciting as it was the first qualifying session with the latest rules and the first time we have been able to see all the cars against each other on low fuel loads at the same time. The super soft compound was the preferred compound today and it delivered a faster lap than the medium compound. Congratulations to Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull for the first pole of the year. Well done also to Karun Chandhok at the other end of the grid for the HRT F1 Team, as his first run in the car was in the qualifying session and he showed very good focus for the task."

What are the tyre strategy considerations for tomorrow's race?
"If the track continues to improve we are confident that the super soft should prove to be a good race tyre as well as a good qualifying tyre. Last year the circuit improved a lot in the race, but the strategists need to be wary of conditions in case there are any sand storms tonight. The medium compound gives good stable performance, but is not as fast over a single lap as the super soft. The difference between compounds for a race stint is not very clear cut so far, meaning we should see a variety of approaches. Strategy options are more limited for the top ten drivers as the rules dictate that they must start the race on the very same set of tyres which they set their fastest lap time. This means that all except Adrian Sutil will start on the super soft. For all drivers there is not the constraint of having to stop to refuel, so the pit stops can occur at any time in the race, so this aspect will be
very interesting. Tomorrow will be the first time that these cars start a race with their heavy fuel loads. Even if the circuit conditions are good tomorrow, drivers will have to be very vigilant, especially on the first laps, when the cars are heaviest and the tyres at their coolest."

Stats of the Day 
Practice Three 11:00 - 12:00
Driver             Team                    Time        Tyre
Fernando Alonso    Scuderia Ferrari	   1m 54.099s  SS
Nico Rosberg       Mercedes GP F1 Team     1m 54.368s  SS
Mark Webber 	   Red Bull Racing 	   1m 54.500s  SS

Qualifying 14:00 - 15:00
Driver             Team                    Time        Tyre
Sebastian Vettel   Red Bull Racing 	   1m 54.101s  SS
Felipe Massa 	   Scuderia Ferrari	   1m 54.242s  SS  
Fernando Alonso    Scuderia Ferrari	   1m 54.608s  SS

Compounds used: Medium / Super Soft
Temperatures 	   Ambient   	   Track	Weather
AM - Practice 3    32C 		   43C-45C 	Sunny
PM - Qualifying    34C 		   48C-45C 	Sunny