Qualifying for the Japanese Grand Prix finally got underway on Sunday morning with Sebastian Vettel securing the top spot.
Torrential rain wasn’t a problem as the Sun shone through the light cloud, drying the damp track completely by Q2.
The session saw little to no mistakes from any drivers as the grid presented all but one big surprise – Felipe Massa couldn’t manage the final session as he qualified 12th, just behind Nick Heidfeld.
The final session saw Mark Webber come in behind his team-mate by just over a tenth, whilst Lewis Hamilton showed strong pace securing third, however a five-place drop due to a gearbox change will see him start eighth.
Robert Kubica pleased the Renault team as he finished just half a second off Vettel’s 1:30.785 and will start third, promoted a place thanks to Hamilton’s drop.
Fernando Alonso will start fourth ahead of Jenson Button, who qualified on the hard tyre, giving him a good strategy for the race.
Japanese Qualifying Results:
| Pos | Driver | Team | Q1 Time | Q2 Time | Q3 Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2. | M. Webber | Red Bull | 1:32.476 | 1:31.241 | 1:30.853 |
| 3. | L. Hamilton | McLaren | 1:32.809 | 1:31.523 | 1:31.169 |
| 1. | S. Vettel | Red Bull | 1:32.035 | 1:31.184 | 1:30.785 |
| 6. | J. Button | McLaren | 1:32.636 | 1:31.763 | 1:31.378 |
| 4. | R. Kubica | Renault | 1:32.808 | 1:32.042 | 1:21.231 |
| 5. | F. Alonso | Ferrari | 1:32.555 | 1:31.819 | 1:31.352 |
| 12. | F. Massa | Ferrari | 1:32.721 | 1:32:321 | |
| 15. | A. Sutil | Force India | 1:33.186 | 1:32.659 | |
| 9. | N. Hulkenberg | Williams | 1:32.211 | 1:31.926 | 1:31.559 |
| 14. | K. Kobayashi | Sauber | 1:32.783 | 1:32.427 | |
| 11. | N. Heidfeld | Sauber | 1:33.011 | 1:32.187 | |
| 13. | V. Petrov | Renault | 1:32.849 | 1:32.422 | |
| 8. | R. Barrichello | Williams | 1:32.361 | 1:31.874 | 1:31.535 |
| 10. | M. Schumacher | Mercedes | 1:32.513 | 1:32.073 | 1:31.846 |
| 7. | N. Rosberg | Mercedes | 1:32.238 | 1:31.886 | 1:31.494 |
| 18. | S. Buemi | Toro Rosso | 1:33.568 | ||
| 16. | J. Alguersuari | Toro Rosso | 1:33.471 | 1:33.071 | |
| 17. | V. Liuzzi | Force India | 1:33.216 | 1:33.154 | |
| 19. | J. Trulli | Lotus | 1:35.346 | ||
| 23. | B. Senna | Hispania | 1:37.270 | ||
| 20. | H. Kovalainen | Lotus | 1:35.464 | ||
| 21. | L. di Grassi | Virgin | 1:36.332 | ||
| 22. | T. Glock | Virgin | 1:36.332 | ||
| 24. | S. Yamamoto | Hispania | 1:37.365 |
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