Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg will start on pole position for the Japanese Grand Prix after a red flagged Q3 ended the session prematurely.
The German posted a 1:32.584 for his first flying lap which team-mate Lewis Hamilton failed to beat after a lock-up at the hairpin. Both were on better laps but a huge crash for Red Bull’s Daniil Kvyat ended the session early, deciding the grid in the process.
Championship leader Hamilton will start second ahead of Williams’ Valtteri Bottas who managed to outqualify the Ferrari of Sebastian Vettel, with Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen fifth and sixth.
Kvyat managed to walk away from his accident which saw his RB11 flip over itself as it hit the barrier and dug into the gravel trap. The team have confirmed he will likely start last as a new chassis/gearbox is required.
Nico Hulkenberg narrowly missed out on the top ten and will start 11th.
Fernando Alonso was the highest placed McLaren at engine supplier Honda’s home race. He conceded he could “do no more” after posting a time just half a second shy of Q3.
Max Verstappen’s Toro Rosso came to a halt just on the exit of the hairpin, ending his qualifying session early. He starts P15.
Alexander Rossi brought up the rear with a time outside the 107 per cent rule, meaning he will be required to gain permission from the stewards to race.
2015 Japanese Grand Prix Qualifying Times (Provisional):
| # | Driver | Team | Time | Gap |
| 01 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 1:32.584 | |
| 02 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:32.660 | +0.076 |
| 03 | Valtteri Bottas | Williams | 1:33.024 | +0.440 |
| 04 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 1:33.245 | +0.661 |
| 05 | Felipe Massa | Williams | 1:33.337 | +0.753 |
| 06 | Kimi Raikkonen | Ferrari | 1:33.347 | +0.763 |
| 07 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull | 1:33.497 | +0.913 |
| 08 | Romain Grosjean | Lotus | 1:33.967 | +1.383 |
| 09 | Sergio Perez | Force India | 1:34.174 | +1.590 |
| 10 | Daniil Kvyat | Red Bull | 1:34.201 | +1.617 |
| 11 | Nico Hulkenberg | Force India | 1:34.278 | |
| 12 | Carlos Sainz | Toro Rosso | 1:34.390 | |
| 13 | Pastor Maldonado | Lotus | 1:34.497 | |
| 14 | Fernando Alonso | McLaren | 1:34.785 | |
| 15 | Max Verstappen | Toro Rosso | No Time | |
| 16 | Jenson Button | McLaren | 1:35.664 | |
| 17 | Marcus Ericsson | Sauber | 1:35.673 | |
| 18 | Felipe Nasr | Sauber | 1:35.760 | |
| 19 | Will Stevens | Marussia | 1:38.783 | |
| 20 | Alexander Rossi | Marussia | 1:47.114 |
