SUZUKA, JAPAN – OCTOBER 06: Sebastian Vettel of Germany and Red Bull Racing celebrates in parc ferme after finishing first during qualifying for the Japanese Formula One Grand Prix at the Suzuka Circuit on October 6, 2012 in Suzuka, Japan.
Sebastian Vettel has taken pole position for the 2012 Japanese Grand Prix.This is Vettel’s fourth consecutive pole position in Suzuka. Mark Webber made it a Red-Bull front row lock out after setting the second fastest time.Jenson Button was third fastest but will drop five places due to gearbox change.
Home hero Kamui Kobayashi was fourth fastest. He was followed up by the Lotus of Romain Grosjean.Both Kamui and Grosjean may get grid penalties for not slowing down under yellow flags.
Sergio Perez and Fernando Alonso were sixth and seventh fastest repectively. Fernando didn’t look quick throughout the qualifying session but did manage to outpace Felipe Massa who had been quicker than Fernando whole weekend.
Kimi Raikkonen and Lewis Hamilton didn’t set a proper lap as Raikkonen spun at the spoon curve while Hamilton had to slow down on his fastest lap due to yellow flags as a result of Raikkonen’s spin.
Nico Hulkenberg didn’t set a time in q3 and was tenth fastest but has five place grid penalty for gearbox change.
Further back Felipe Massa couldn’t make into q3 and lines up 11th on the grid.Both of the Mercedes drivers couldn’t make into q3. Michael Schumacher had the pace but decided to save tyres as he has ten place grid penalty.He will start from P23. Nico Rosberg had been struggling throughout the weekend and he could only manage fifteenth fastest time.
The current qualifying order is most likely to see number of changes due to many grid penalties.
Here are the full results at the end of Qualifying:
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull Racing-Renault | 1:32.608 | 1:31.501 | 1:30.839 | 11 |
| 2 | 2 | Mark Webber | Red Bull Racing-Renault | 1:32.951 | 1:31.950 | 1:31.090 | 15 |
| 3 | 3 | Jenson Button | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:33.077 | 1:31.772 | 1:31.290 | 14 |
| 4 | 14 | Kamui Kobayashi | Sauber-Ferrari | 1:32.042 | 1:31.886 | 1:31.700 | 16 |
| 5 | 10 | Romain Grosjean | Lotus-Renault | 1:32.029 | 1:31.988 | 1:31.898 | 20 |
| 6 | 15 | Sergio Perez | Sauber-Ferrari | 1:32.147 | 1:32.169 | 1:32.022 | 20 |
| 7 | 5 | Fernando Alonso | Ferrari | 1:32.459 | 1:31.833 | 1:32.114 | 17 |
| 8 | 9 | Kimi Räikkönen | Lotus-Renault | 1:32.221 | 1:31.826 | 1:32.208 | 18 |
| 9 | 4 | Lewis Hamilton | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:33.061 | 1:32.121 | 1:32.327 | 17 |
| 10 | 12 | Nico Hulkenberg | Force India-Mercedes | 1:32.828 | 1:32.272 | 12 | |
| 11 | 6 | Felipe Massa | Ferrari | 1:32.946 | 1:32.293 | 12 | |
| 12 | 11 | Paul di Resta | Force India-Mercedes | 1:32.898 | 1:32.327 | 14 | |
| 13 | 7 | Michael Schumacher | Mercedes | 1:33.349 | 1:32.469 | 10 | |
| 14 | 18 | Pastor Maldonado | Williams-Renault | 1:32.834 | 1:32.512 | 11 | |
| 15 | 8 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 1:33.015 | 1:32.625 | 16 | |
| 16 | 16 | Daniel Ricciardo | STR-Ferrari | 1:33.059 | 1:32.954 | 14 | |
| 17 | 17 | Jean-Eric Vergne | STR-Ferrari | 1:33.370 | 1:33.368 | 14 | |
| 18 | 19 | Bruno Senna | Williams-Renault | 1:33.405 | 8 | ||
| 19 | 20 | Heikki Kovalainen | Caterham-Renault | 1:34.657 | 6 | ||
| 20 | 24 | Timo Glock | Marussia-Cosworth | 1:35.213 | 8 | ||
| 21 | 22 | Pedro de la Rosa | HRT-Cosworth | 1:35.385 | 6 | ||
| 22 | 25 | Charles Pic | Marussia-Cosworth | 1:35.429 | 8 | ||
| 23 | 21 | Vitaly Petrov | Caterham-Renault | 1:35.432 | 8 | ||
| 24 | 23 | Narain Karthikeyan | HRT-Cosworth | 1:36.734 | 6 | ||
| Q1 107% Time | 1:38.471 |
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