31-Oct-09: Hamilton Secures Pole Position in Abu Dhabi

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Listen to this episode

Welcome to F1 Minute for the 31st October 2009.

Lewis Hamilton took pole position in Abu Dhabi today, and it was not a surprise to anyone. The McLaren looked supreme all day, and he beat next place Vettel by over half a second. Teammate Kovalainen stopped out on track during qualifying with a gearbox problem, though, and although he finished the day 13th, he will take a five place grid drop for changing the gearbox, dropping him down to 18th.

Notably, both Renault and both Force India cars were out in Q1, along with Fisichella who qualified last. Raikkonen just missed out on the top ten and starts 11th.

Elsewhere, Campos META have confirmed that they’ve signed Bruno Senna to drive for them next year. The CEO of the team said: “We have followed him closely since his early days in minor series and testified how quickly he developed his speed and skills at GP2 to become one of the most promising up-and-coming drivers of his generation.”

That’s all for today, I’ll be back tomorrow with another F1 Minute.