Russian GP Qualifying: Nico Rosberg beats Lewis Hamilton to pole

Nico Rosberg has taken pole position for the Russian Grand Prix by a dominant three tenths from Lewis Hamilton.

Despite failing to go quicker on his second flying lap in Q3 at Sochi, the German had done enough with his opening attempt and even forced Hamilton into out-braking himself at Turn 12 as the world champion tried to make up the deficit.

Having struggled this year in qualifying against Hamilton, who leads the world championship by 48 points, Rosberg has now claimed back-to-back pole positions having been quickest at Suzuka last time out. However, the German will be hoping to maintain his advantage for longer than he did in Japan when he lost out to Hamilton at the start.

"I'm very happy. It's been a difficult weekend because of the little running we got, we didn't get much practice," said a jubilant Rosberg.

"But qualifying worked out really well, I found a good balance on the car, we had to guess a bit where it was going to be but it all worked out well. I felt comfortable and got some good laps in. Very happy with that."

Immediately after the session Hamilton was already looking to Sunday and plotting a move into Turn Two where Rosberg tried to pass him last year.

What we learnt from qualifying

No practice makes perfect for Nico as Red Bull set to eat humble pie.

"As you saw last year, this is not such a bad race for P2," said Hamilton

"It's one of the longest runs of the whole year so it should create opportunities. But there'll be other opportunities during the race I'm sure."

Valtteri Bottas delivered on the pace Williams had shown throughout practice to take third for Williams, just ahead of Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel.

The Finn was a long way clear of Williams team-mate Felipe Massa who was a shock Q2 casualty with the 15th quickest time.

"It was not just a mistake, it was a problem with the traffic," Massa complained to Sky Sports F1.

Kimi Raikkonen was fifth for Ferrari, but nearly four tenths behind Vettel, with the Force India pair of Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez exploiting the power from their Mercedes engines to take sixth and seventh.

The Brixworth unit also propelled Haas-bound Romain Grosjean to eighth for Lotus, with Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo completing the top 10.

Sainz in hospital after crash

Toro Rosso driver suffers high-speed shunt in Sochi

Home favourite Daniil Kvyat missed out on a spot in Q3 by less than a tenth of a second in the second Red Bull. "He was too cautious in the final two corners, he didn't carry enough apex speed," said Sky F1's Martin Brundle in commentary.

Felipe Nasr was 12th quickest and a long way clear of Sauber team-mate Marcus Ericsson who was a Q1 casualty with the 17th quickest time.

Behind the Brazilian was McLaren's Jenson Button who recorded his best qualifying performance since the Monaco GP. Given that Sochi is a rather power-dependent track, it was a standout performance from the former world champion, particularly because unlike team-mate Fernando Alonso he is running the old-spec Honda engine. Pastor Maldonado was 14th quickest.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

With Carlos Sainz missing the session following his Practice Three crash, only four cars dropped out in Q1, but that still wasn't enough to save Alonso from an early exit. Not that progression would have made too much difference for the Spaniard given his 25-place grid penalty for taking a new, upgraded engine.

At the back, Will Stevens was ahead of the returning Roberto Merhi in the Manor battle.

Russian GP Qualifying

Q3

1. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes, 1:37.113

2. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 1:37.433

3. Valtteri Bottas, Williams, 1:37.912

4. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari, 1:37.965

5. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, 1:38.348

6. Nico Hulkenberg, Force India, 1:38.659

7. Sergio Perez, Force India, 1:38.691

8. Romain Grosjean, Lotus, 1:38.787

9. Max Verstappen, Toro Rosso, 1:38.924

10. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull, 1:39.728

Q2

11. Daniil Kvyat, Red Bull, 1:39.214

12. Felipe Nasr, Sauber, 1:39.323

13. Jenson Button, McLaren, 1:39.763

14. Pastor Maldonado, Lotus, 1:39.811

15. Felipe Massa, Williams, 1:39.895

Q1

16. Fernando Alonso, McLaren, 1:40.144

17. Marcus Ericsson, Sauber, 1:40.660

18. Will Stevens, Manor, 1:43.693

19. Roberto Merhi, Manor, 1:43.804

Don't miss Sky Sports F1's live weekend-long coverage of the 2015 Russian Grand Prix. Our race-day show begins at 10.30am on Sunday, with lights out at 12 noon. Watch the Russian GP for £6.99 with NOW TV