German out-qualifies Lewis Hamilton for only the second time in 2015; Session brought to an early end by huge crash for Daniil Kvyat
Tuesday 29 September 2015 10:52, UK
Nico Rosberg will start from pole position at the Japanese Grand Prix after qualifying was brought to an early end by a huge crash for Daniil Kvyat.
Looking ragged all weekend, the Red Bull driver made a mistake on his final flying lap, hitting the barriers with such violence that his car flipped over before coming to a rest. Fortunately the Russian was unharmed in the incident but due to the extent of the repair work required he will start from the pit lane.
Lewis Hamilton had been less than a tenth of a second behind Rosberg during the first round of flying laps at the start of Q3 before his final effort was halted by the red flags triggered by Kvyat's crash.
Valtteri Bottas will start third for Williams as the Grove team returned to form. Singapore victor Sebastian Vettel split the two white cars to complete the second row after edging out Felipe Massa by less than a tenth of a second. The second Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen joins the Brazilian on the third row.
Rosberg's pole position is his first since the Spanish GP in May and only the second time he has out qualified Hamilton all season.
"First of all, very happy - it's a great day today," said Rosberg. "Also a great comeback by the team after our performance in Singapore."
The world champion was left to rue a scruffy opening attempt in Q3 which saw him battle understeer, costing valuable tenths of a second as he locked up and slid wide at the hairpin.
"On the first lap I lost a bit of time into Turn 11 and into the last corner," Hamilton said. "Nico is driving well this weekend, but I felt pretty good on the last lap. The lap started off so well, I was a tenth and a half up by Turn Seven and then the red flag came out out and I was like 'no!'."
Daniel Ricciardo starts seventh, with Romain Grosjean eighth for Lotus - the Frenchman once again a long way ahead of team-mate Pastor Maldonado who was only 13th.
Sergio Perez and Kvyat completed the top ten - although the Russian will start the race from the pitlane on Sunday due to the amount of damage caused to his car.
"It was a mistake.I put two wheels on the grass and there's no run-off area, so it was a quite large accident," Kvyat told Sky Sports F1.
In what is becoming a habit, Nico Hulkenberg missed out on Q3 with the 11th quickest time - the fourth time in five races he has occupied that position. However, the German will be demoted three places due to a penalty he picked up for contact with Massa in Singapore.
Once again there were struggles for both McLaren drivers. Fernando Alonso was the slowest of the 14 runners in Q2 and declared "I cannot do much more than this" on the radio after the session.
At least he made it that far, as Jenson Button exited in Q1. "The position we are in, we cannot make any mistakes," complained Button after the team neglected to inform him what engine mode to use and he ran out of battery power.
The Briton was then forced to abandon his final flying lap after Max Verstappen stopped on the exit of the hairpin and caused a yellow flag. An unhappy Dutchman told Sky Sports F1 that his Toro Rosso car had lost power at the corner. His mood will have been made worse by a three-place grid penalty from the stewards for stopping "on racing line in a potentially dangerous position".
Button wasn't the only driver affected by Verstappen's stoppage. "I was on a good lap!" blasted Felipe Nasr over the radio as he dropped out in Q1. Not only did the Brazilian miss out on the chance to progress, but it also meant he qualified behind team-mate Marcus Ericsson, despite the Swede having an early off into the gravel at Spoon.
At the back of the grid Will Stevens out-qualified Alexander Rossi once again, with the American outside of the 107% rule. He has, though, been granted permission from the stewards to start Sunday's race.
Japanese GP Q3 timesheet
1. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes, 1:32.584
2. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 1:32.660
3. Valtteri Bottas, Williams, 1:33.024
4. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari, 1:33.245
5. Felipe Massa, Williams, 1:33.337
6. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, 1:33.347
7. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull, 1:33.497
8. Romain Grosjean, Lotus, 1:33.967
9. Sergio Perez, Force India, No time
10. Daniil Kvyat, Red Bull, No time.
Q2 timesheet
11. Nico Hulkenberg, Force India, 1:34.390
12. Carlos Sainz, Toro Rosso, 1:34.453
13. Pastor Maldonado, Lotus, 1:34.497
14. Fernando Alonso, McLaren, 1:34.785
15. Max Verstappen, Toro Rosso, No time.
Q1 timesheet
16. Jenson Button, McLaren, 1:35.664
17. Marcus Ericsson, Sauber, 1:35.673
18. Felipe Nasr, Sauber, 1:35.760
19. Will Stevens, Manor, 1:38.783
Outside 107%
Alexander Rossi, Manor, 1:47.114
