F1 GP Abu Dhabi 2009 Qual: Hamilton clinches pole

uk.eurosport.yahoo.com

Lewis Hamilton dominated qualifying to clinch pole position for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at the Yas Marina circuit in convincing day for McLaren.

The Brit was fastest in all three phases of the session and kept his nerve in a frantic finale to Q3 to hold the ascendancy for the inaugural race in Abu Dhabi and secure his 17th career pole in his 52nd race after posting a 1:41.773.

Red Bull duo Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber - second and third fastest respectively - pushed Hamilton hard throughout but were pipped at the death by the McLaren driver.

World champion-elect Jenson Button made a fleeting challenge before he finished up fifth fastest after struggling with his Brawn, with team-mate Rubens Barrichello taking fourth.

Source: uk.eurosport.yahoo.com

Abu Dhabi Grand Prix qualifying times:

1. Lewis Hamilton (Britain) McLaren-Mercedes 1m 40.948s

2. Sebastian Vettel (Germany) RedBull - Renault 1:41.615

3. Mark Webber (Australia) RedBull - Renault 1:41.726

4. Rubens Barrichello (Brazil) Brawn - Mercedes 1:41.786

5. Jenson Button (Britain) Brawn - Mercedes 1:41.892

6. Jarno Trulli (Italy) Toyota 1:41.897

7. Robert Kubica (Poland) BMW Sauber 1:41.992

8. Nick Heidfeld (Germany) BMW Sauber 1:42.343

9. Nico Rosberg (Germany) Williams - Toyota 1:42.583

10. Sebastien Buemi (Switzerland) Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:42.713

11. Kimi Raikkonen (Finland) Ferrari 1:40.726

12. Kamui Kobayashi (Japan) Toyota 1:40.777

13. Heikki Kovalainen (Finland) McLaren-Mercedes 1:40.983

14. Kazuki Nakajima (Japan) Williams - Toyota 1:41.148

15. Jaime Alguersuari (Spain) Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:41.689

16. Fernando Alonso (Spain) Renault 1:41.667

17. Vitantonio Liuzzi (Italy) Force India-Mercedes 1:41.701

18. Adrian Sutil (Germany) Force India-Mercedes 1:41.863

19. Romain Grosjean (France) Renault 1:41.950

20. Giancarlo Fisichella (Italy) Ferrari 1:42.184