Kamui Kobayashi has been promoted to seventh following a lenghtly discussion amongst the governing body, the FIA.
The Japanese driver will start ahead of Michael Schumacher who drops to eighth, ahead of both Renaults; Bruno Senna and Vitaly Petrov.
None of the four aforementioned drivers set a timed lap in Q3, but the Sauber driver attempted to, before aborting it.
Meanwhile, Schumacher crossed the line to start his a second after the flag fell and therefore completed less running than Kobayashi.
Neither Renault left the pits, and therefore they will start in the final two positions within the top ten.
Regulation 36.2 B: If more than one driver fails to set a time during Q1, Q2 or Q3 they will be arranged in the following order:
i) any driver who attempted to set a qualifying time by starting a flying lap;
ii) any driver who failed to start a flying lap;
iii) any driver who failed to leave the pits during the period.
Revised Japanese GP Top-10 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 |
| 09. | 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 |
| 07. | K. Kobayashi | Sauber | 1:32.626 | 1:32.380 | No Time |
| 10. | V. Petrov | Renault | 1:32.877 | 1:32.245 | No Time |
| 08. | M. Schumacher | Mercedes | 1:33.748 | 1:32.116 | No Time |
