Nico Rosberg was unchallenged in his fight for pole position as his team-mate crashed out in Q1, leaving it up to the Williams duo to mount an unsuccessful challenge.
The German’s 1:16.540 was just too quick for Valtteri Bottas who, on his second attempt, managed to get within two tenths and starts second ahead of team-mate Felipe Massa.
Fourth went to McLaren’s Kevin Magnussen. The Dane starts seven places ahead of Jenson Button who failed to exit Q2.
The Red Bulls line up fifth and sixth with Daniel Ricciardo once again beating four-time champion Sebastian Vettel by three tenths.
The big news of the session was that of Hamilton who qualified 16th, but will start a place higher once Esteban Gutierrez has served his grid penalty.
It’s only the second time Hamilton has failed to reach Q3 in the last four and a half years – the last time being Italy, 2013.
Qualifying – 2014 German Grand Prix
| # | Driver | Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | N. Rosberg | Mercedes | 1:17.631 | 1:17.109 | 1:16.540 |
| 02 | V. Bottas | Williams | 1:18.215 | 1:17.353 | 1:16.759 |
| 03 | F. Massa | Williams | 1:18.381 | 1:17.370 | 1:17.078 |
| 04 | K. Magnussen | McLaren | 1:18.260 | 1:17.788 | 1:17.214 |
| 05 | D. Ricciardo | Red Bull | 1:18.117 | 1:17.855 | 1:17.273 |
| 06 | S. Vettel | Red Bull | 1:18.194 | 1:17.646 | 1:17.577 |
| 07 | F. Alonso | Ferrari | 1:18.389 | 1:17.866 | 1:17.649 |
| 08 | D. Kvyat | Toro Rosso | 1:18.530 | 1:18.103 | 1:17.965 |
| 09 | N. Hulkenberg | Force India | 1:18.927 | 1:18.017 | 1:18.014 |
| 10 | S. Perez | Force India | 1:18.916 | 1:18.161 | 1:18.045 |
| 11 | J. Button | McLaren | 1:18.425 | 1:18.193 | |
| 12 | K. Raikkonen | Ferrari | 1:18.534 | 1:18.273 | |
| 13 | J. Vergne | Toro Rosso | 1:18.496 | 1:18.285 | |
| 14 | E. Gutierrez | Sauber | 1:18.739 | 1:18.787 | |
| 15 | R. Grosjean | Lotus | 1:18.894 | 1:18.983 | |
| 16 | L. Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:18.683 | No Time | |
| 17 | A. Sutil | Sauber | 1:19.142 | ||
| 18 | J. Bianchi | Marussia | 1:19.676 | ||
| 19 | P. Maldonado | Lotus | 1:20.195 | ||
| 20 | K. Kobayashi | Caterham | 1:20.408 | ||
| 21 | M. Chilton | Marussia | 1:20.489 | ||
| 22 | M. Ericsson | Caterham |
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