Mark Webber qualified for the first place on the grid for the first time this year as he scorched the Suzuka track at the F1 Japanese Grand Prix. Teammate Sebastian Vettel, who had started on the pole in the last three races, couldn't put a lap together and qualified second.
The times toppled as the first session saw Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg set a fast lap of 1:32.244 but then Romain Grosjean went passed his time and went fastest with 1:31.824.
The six drivers eliminated in Q1 were Adrian Sutil, Vergne, Max Chilton, Charles Pic, Guido van der Garde and Jules Bianchi.
Q2 saw everybody on medium tyres and Vettel and Webber looked in sublime form as they beat everyone to take the top two spots. Vettel posted a time of 1:31.290 which put him ahead of Webber (1:31.513)
The top 10 at the end of Q2 were Vettel, Webber, Grosjean, Hamilton, Raikkonen, Massa, Rosberg, Alonso, Button and surprise, surprise! Hulkenberg.
As Q3 got underway Vettel and Alonso were the first out for the 10-minute shootout. Vettel clocked a 1:31.312 while Alonso turned in a 1:31.839. Webber went quickest with a 1:30.975 while Hamilton took fourth with a 1:31.952.
As the session came to a close, all 10 drivers were out on the track. Raikkonen was the first to start his flying lap. Vettel improved to a 1:31.089 but that wasn't enough to beat Webber who further improved his timings to 1:30.915 to take pole position. Hamilton sneaked in with a 1:31.253 for third place while Grosjean's 1:31.365 put him fourth on the grid.
Massa, Rosberg, Hulkenberg, Alonso, Raikkonen and Button rounded out the top 10 qualifiers.
It’s race day tomorrow and the front line is a tightly guarded one with both the Red Bulls up there. Will Vettel make a clean sweep this time or will it be the Buddh International Circuit that will decide his fate? We’ll bring you the latest as and when it happens.
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