Mexican GP Qualifying: Nico Rosberg takes fourth consecutive pole

Nico Rosberg claimed his fourth consecutive pole position as the Mercedes driver beat team-mate Lewis Hamilton in qualifying for the Mexican GP.

The German has seemingly rediscovered the form which saw him clinch the pole position trophy in 2014, but he has only converted two of his last 10 poles into victory.

Newly-crowned world champion Hamilton will once again start alongside Rosberg on the front row of the grid. He has taken victory from that position at each of the previous three races.

"I just felt good all weekend," said Rosberg. "I've been quick in all different sessions and I found a good balance in qualifying. I was able to push and got a really good lap in.

"It's a good start starting from pole. It's going to be a long run down to Turn One, so it's going to be an exciting battle."

It will be vital for Rosberg's battered confidence that he wins that battle with Hamilton after losing out to his team-mate at the first corner in Austin last weekend. And Hamilton is already starting the mind games ahead of the race.

"We have quite a different set-up this weekend so perhaps the avenue I went might not be the perfect one for qualifying, but it'll be good for the race," he said.

Sebastian Vettel took the fight to the Mercedes for Ferrari and he admitted he "gave it his all" and "took more risks" on his final flying lap over team radio following the session, but it was to no avail.

"I was probably trying too hard," the four-time champion later admitted in the press conference.

Speaking to Sky Sports F1 Vettel added: "That was the maximum so it was another very good day from the team. We made a step from yesterday to today."

The German will start the race from third and will have to lead the Scuderia charge after Kimi Raikkonen spun off in Q2 due to a braking problem that brought his session to an early end. The Finn was 15th quickest, but will take a five-place grid penalty.

A tight fight between the Red Bull drivers saw Daniil Kvyat edge out team-mate Daniel Ricciardo by a thousandth of a second to take fourth on the grid, with the two Williams drivers, Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa, following in sixth and seventh.

Max Verstappen bounced back from his practice woes to take eighth for Toro Rosso, with home favourite Sergio Perez ninth for Force India, ahead of team-mate Nico Hulkenberg who was involved in a heated radio exchange with his engineer. 

"Ninth isn't the worst position to start the race," Perez told Sky Sports F1. "A podium is probably a bit unrealistic, but anything from fourth to ninth is possible."

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Carlos Sainz was 11th quickest and narrowly missed out on a Q3 spot due to brilliant final laps from his team-mate Verstappen and Williams' Massa in slippery conditions when the rain started to fall at the end of Q2.

With the high-altitude balancing out engine performance to a certain extent, Lotus were found lacking with Romain Grosjean 12th quickest and Pastor Maldonado 13th. Marcus Ericsson was 14th for Sauber.

Having looked more competitive recently, both McLarens were Q1 casualties for the seventh time in 17 races this year.

Fernando Alonso was 16th quickest and two tenths off making it into Q2. The Spaniard at least took part in the session, as Jenson Button's miserable weekend continued. Already taking a 50-place grid penalty for engine changes, McLaren were unable to send him out due to "underlying signal problems" with Button's engine.

"There's a misfire as well, so we have to change it because we don't know if it's going to clear up for the race. So I miss qualifying, which is a shame. I was really looking forward to it," Button told Sky Sports F1.

"In P2 I did a couple of laps on low fuel and it was fun. But it's been a tough weekend. We've had a lot of problems and I haven't actually run high-fuel yet, so the race is going to be quite tough."

Joining the McLarens on the side-lines after Q1 was Felipe Nasr in the Sauber who was out-qualified by Marcus Ericsson for the second consecutive race.

And in the Manor battle at the back, Alexander Rossi beat Will Stevens by over two tenths of a second.

Q3

1. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes, 1:19.480

2. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 1:19.668

3. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari, 1:19.850

4. Daniil Kvyat, Red Bull, 1:20.398

5. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull, 1:20.399

6. Valtteri Bottas, Williams, 1:20.48

7. Felipe Massa, Williams, 1:20.567

8. Max Verstappen, Toro Rosso, 1:20.710

9. Sergio Perez, Force India, 1:20.716

10. Nico Hulkenberg, Force India, 1:20.788

Q2

11. Carlos Sainz, Toro Rosso, 1:20.942

12. Romain Grosjean, Lotus, 1:21.038

13. Pastor Maldonado, Lotus, 1:21.261

14. Marcus Ericsson, Sauber, 1:21.544

15. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, 1:22.494

Q1

16. Fernando Alonso, McLaren, 1:21.779

17. Felipe Nasr, Sauber, 1:21.788

18. Alexander Rossi, Manor, 1:24.136

19. Will Stevens, Manor, 1:24.386

Jenson Button - Did not take part.