Vettel on pole in Japan

Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel claimed pole position for Sunday's Japanese Grand Prix with Jenson Button down in seventh.

Accident-packed session sees two drivers taken to hospital

Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel claimed pole position for Sunday's Japanese Grand Prix after an eventful qualifying session at Suzuka. Knowing he needs a win this weekend to keep his title hopes alive, the German posted a best lap time of one minute 32.160 seconds. Jarno Trulli was second in his Toyota while McLaren's Lewis Hamilton - winner in Singapore last week - will start from third on the grid. Championship leader Jenson Button could only manage seventh place, with his Brawn GP team-mate and main championship rival Rubens Barrichello in fifth. However, both drivers - along with three others - were later handed five-place grid penalties for yellow flag infringements.

Red flags

The session saw no fewer than three red flags, whilst two drivers - Jamie Alguersuari and Timo Glock - had to be taken to hospital following accidents. Alguersuari ran wide exiting turn eight and drove straight on into a tyre barrier, red flagging Q2 with around 11 minutes to go. The Spaniard managed to walk away from the wreckage of his Toro Rosso car, though, and travelled to hospital only as a precaution. Glock, meanwhile, was taken to the medical centre in Yokkaichi having sustained a left-leg wound and complaining of back pain after smashing head first into a tyre wall at the final corner not long after the session had resumed. The front of his Toyota car was destroyed and marshals initially covered the scene of the incident with a white sheet. Glock, who missed practice on Friday due to illness, was then stretchered away to a waiting ambulance, and it was later revealed he was suffering back pains and a wound to his left leg. Williams' Nico Rosberg, Ferrari-bound Fernando Alonso in his Renault and BMW Sauber driver Robert Kubica also suffered early finishes to their qualifying campaigns. Alonso qualified 12th but, like Button and Barrichello, was in receipt of a five-place penalty in Q2. The other two drivers to be penalised were Adrian Sutil, who had qualified a strong fourth for Force India, and Sebastien Buemi, who moves down from 10th to 15th.

Webber missing

Mark Webber never even made the start having crashed out in morning practice, meaning he will start from the pit lane in his Red Bull. The Australian ended up in the tyre wall after going off at turn nine towards the end of the hour-long session and his team were unable to fix his car in time. Webber's accident has dashed Red Bull's already slender hopes in this year's constructors' championship as they need to score seven more points than Brawn GP this weekend to prevent the latter outfit taking the title. Team-mate Vettel had no such problems, despite Heikki Kovalainen forcing a third stoppage to proceedings after sliding off at the troublesome Degner curves in Q3. Trulli fell just short with a time of 1:32.220 but Button was well adrift, though with Barrichello only two places ahead the Briton still has high hopes of clinching overall glory - he needs to better the Brazilian by five points on Sunday to claim his maiden drivers' crown. Times
1 S. Vettel Red Bull 1:32.160
2 J. Trulli Toyota 1:32.220
3 L. Hamilton McLaren 1:32.395
4 A. Sutil Force India F1 1:32.466
5 R. Barrichello Brawn GP 1:32.660
6 N. Heidfeld BMW 1:32.945
7 J. Button Brawn GP 1:32.962
8 K. Räikkönen Ferrari 1:32.980
9 H. Kovalainen McLaren no time
10 S. Buemi Scuderia Toro Rosso no time
11 N. Rosberg Williams 1:31.103
12 F. Alonso Renault 1:31.638
13 R. Kubica BMW 1:32.341
14 T. Glock Toyota no time
15 J. Alguersuari Scuderia Toro Rosso no time
16 G. Fisichella Ferrari 1:31.704
17 K. Nakajima Williams 1:31.718
18 R. Grosjean Renault 1:32.073
19 V. Liuzzi Force India F1 1:32.087