Sebastian Vettel secured Red Bull’s 15th pole position of 2011, but it was a narrow gap to second with Jenson Button just 0.009 behind.
Lewis Hamilton slotted into third but failed to set a final flying lap because of an issue during his out-lap which saw two cars, Mark Webber and Michael Schumacher, pass him into the final chicane.
Felipe Massa starts ahead of Fernando Alonso with Webber in P6.
Schumacher, Bruno Senna, Vitaly Petrov and home favourite, Kamui Kobayashi, complete the top ten.
Nico Rosberg will start from 23rd after he failed to get out on track for a flying lap thanks to a hydraulic issue.
For a full qualifying report, check out our live report here.
Japanese GP Qualifying Results:
| Pos | Driver | Team | Q1 Time | Q2 Time | Q3 Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01. | S. Vettel | Red Bull | 1:33.051 | 1:31.424 | 1:30.466 |
| 06. | M. Webber | Red Bull | 1:33.135 | 1:31.576 | 1:31.156 |
| 03. | L. Hamilton | McLaren | 1:32.843 | 1:31.139 | 1:30.617 |
| 02. | J. Button | McLaren | 1:32.947 | 1:31.434 | 1:30.475 |
| 08. | B. Senna | Renault | 1:33.359 | 1:32.297 | No Time |
| 05. | F. Alonso | Ferrari | 1:32.817 | 1:31.612 | 1:30.886 |
| 04. | F. Massa | Ferrari | 1:33.235 | 1:31.909 | 1:30.804 |
| 11. | A. Sutil | Force India | 1:32.761 | 1:32.463 | |
| 14. | P. Maldonado | Williams | 1:33.781 | 1:33.224 | |
| 10. | K. Kobayashi | Sauber | 1:32.626 | 1:32.380 | No Time |
| 17. | S. Perez | Sauber | 1:34.704 | No Time | |
| 09. | V. Petrov | Renault | 1:32.877 | 1:32.245 | No Time |
| 13. | R. Barrichello | Williams | 1:33.921 | 1:33.079 | |
| 07. | M. Schumacher | Mercedes | 1:33.748 | 1:32.116 | No Time |
| 23. | N. Rosberg | Mercedes | No Time | ||
| 15. | S. Buemi | Toro Rosso | 1:33.064 | 1:33.227 | |
| 16. | J. Alguersuari | Toro Rosso | 1:35.111 | 1:33.427 | |
| 12. | P. di Resta | Force India | 1:33.499 | 1:32.746 | |
| 19. | J. Trulli | Team Lotus | 1:35.514 | ||
| 22. | D. Ricciardo | Hispania | 1:37.846 | ||
| 18. | H. Kovalainen | Team Lotus | 1:35.454 | ||
| 20. | J. d’Ambrosio | Virgin | 1:36.439 | ||
| 21. | T. Glock | Virgin | 1:36.507 | ||
| 24. | V. Liuzzi | Hispania | No Time | ||
| Q1 107% Time: | 1:39.453 | ||||
