Nico Rosberg edges out Hamilton and claims Pole Position for the Japanese GP

In qualifying for the Japanese GP in Suzuka, Nico Rosberg claims Pole Position for Sunday's race ahead of his team mate Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Raikkonen in a session which saw both Championship contenders fighting closely as ever.

In Q1, Sebastian Vettel topped the timesheets ahead of Kimi Raikkonen and the two Mercedes drivers of Rosberg and Hamilton, with Rosberg having an significant advantage heading into Q2.

In Q2, it was Nico Rosberg who topped the timesheets ahead of his team mate and Vettel, with Rosberg holding all the cards heading into the Pole Position shootout.

But it was Nico Rosberg who claimed Pole Position for the Japanese GP with a lap time of 1:30.647 ahead of his team mate Lewis Hamilton in second place who was 0.013 seconds behind him and ahead of Kimi Raikkonen in third place who was 0.302 seconds behind Rosberg.

Sebastian Vettel qualified in fourth place ahead of Max Verstappen in fifth place, Daniel Ricciardo in sixth place, Sergio Perez in seventh place, Romain Grosjean in eighth place, Nico Hulkenberg in ninth place and Esteban Gutierrez who rounded off the top ten finishers.

Valtteri Bottas qualified in eleventh place ahead of Felipe Massa in twelfth place, Daniil Kvyat in thirteenth place, Carlos Sainz Jr in fourteenth place and Fernando Alonso in fifteenth place.

As we head into the latter stages of the grid, Jolyon Palmer ended the session in sixteenth place ahead of Jenson Button in seventeenth place, Kevin Magnussen in eighteenth place, Marcus Ericsson in nineteenth place, Felipe Nasr in twentieth place, Esteban Ocon in twenty-first place and Pascal Wehrlein in twenty-second place.

The classification of Qualifying for the Japanese GP is as follows:-

1. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes, 1.30.647
2. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 0.013s
3. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, 0.302s
4. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari, 0.381s
5. Max Verstappen, Red-Bull-TAG Heuer, 0.531s
6. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull-TAG Heuer, 0.593s
7. Sergio Perez, Force India-Mercedes, 1.314s
8. Romain Grosjean, Haas Ferrari, 1.314s
9. Nico Hulkenberg, Force India-Mercedes, 1.495s
10. Esteban Gutierrez, Haas Ferrari, 1.900s
11. Valtteri Bottas, Williams-Mercedes, 1.32.315
12. Felipe Massa, Williams-Mercedes, 1.32.380
13. Daniil Kvyat, Toro Rosso, 1.32.623
14. Carlos Sainz Jr, Toro Rosso, 1.32.685
15. Fernando Alonso, McLaren-Honda, 1.32.689S
16. Jolyon Palmer, Renault, 1.32.807
17. Jenson Button, McLaren-Honda, 1.32.851
18. Kevin Magnussen, Renault, 1.33.033
19. Marcus Ericsson, Sauber-Ferrari, 1.33.222
20. Felipe Nasr, Sauber-Ferrari, 1.33.332
21. Esteban Ocon, MRT Racing 1.33.353
22. Pascal Wehrlein, MRT Racing, 1.33.561

Sarah Jones- @jonesy_laaa