Hamilton takes pole for Abu Dhabi GP

MCLAREN driver Lewis Hamilton has claimed pole position for today's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Hamilton set a time of 1 minute, 40.948 seconds on the last qualifying lap around the new Yas Marina circuit yesterday, edging Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel by almost six tenths of a second. Vettel's teammate, Mark Webber, will start from third, ahead of the Brawn GP teammates Rubens Barrichello and Jenson Button.

The next three positions will be filled by Toyota driver Jarno Trulli and the BMW Sauber teammates Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld.

Meanwhile, Heikki Kovalainen had a warning for whoever takes his seat at McLaren next season.

The Finn is expected to depart McLaren after today's race, and like his predecessor Fernando Alonso, he will leave angry at the preferential treatment shown to Hamilton.

"It was always difficult to accept that Lewis was always the first to receive the new parts," Kovalainen told Helsingen Sanomat newspaper. "I have never wanted to make a big deal about it, but it would have been nice to just once had the new parts on my car, particularly after we lost the chance of winning the championship."

Email Story    Printable View    Blog Story    Copy Headline/URL