Bridgestone’s intermediate tyre took Rubens Barrichello (Brawn GP Formula 1 Team) to his first pole position since Brazil 2004 to delight his home crowds on a very wet day at Interlagos.

Qualifying for the Brazilian Grand Prix was interrupted by red flag periods and delayed due to the wet conditions. Bridgestone’s wet tyre was the only one used in Q1, but the wet and the intermediate were used in Q2 and only the intermediate in Q3 as there was less standing water.

The wet was also the only tyre used in the morning practice, which had limited running due to heavy rain, and was ended early by red flags. Nico Rosberg (AT&T Williams) was fastest in this session.

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

What was significant about today’s running?
“I think it is fair to say that the rain was the main factor today and this was the longest qualifying session I can remember. A wet track is one of the biggest challenges in motor racing, because the grip level from the circuit is always changing. This makes choosing the correct tyre at the correct moment crucial, especially with the current qualifying format. At times the circuit was too wet for running, especially with some cars not running full wet set-ups. Overall we are happy with tyre performance today and it is very interesting for the championship battle to see Rubens Barrichello on pole so well done to him and Brawn GP. Mark Webber and Adrian Sutil also put in strong performances in the difficult conditions.”

What are the tyre strategy considerations for tomorrow’s race?
“If it’s dry then we think the medium compound will be the preferred race tyre, as the super soft suffers from worse degradation. However, if temperatures are very cold and there is the threat of rain the super soft with its lower temperature working range and extra grip could show benefits. If it is wet like today tyre choices become very difficult and we saw a very good illustration of this last time we visited Interlagos.”

Image (c) Bridgestone Corporation