Nico Rosberg takes pole at Russian Grand Prix

Russian Grand Prix: Qualifying - Nico Rosberg on pole

TOP 10 - END OF #QUALI 1 ROS 2 HAM 3 BOT 4 VET 5 RAI 6 HUL 7 PER 8 GRO 9 VES 10 RIC #RussianGP pic.twitter.com/TFZQvkVXHb
— Formula 1 (@F1) October 10, 2015

Front row - ROS, HAM, BOT

Chequered flag! Nico Rosberg on pole for tomorrow.

Hamilton appears to have given up as he pits 3/10ths of a second behind Rosberg's time. Rosberg on provisional pole with a minute to go in Qualifying.

A very quick battle with Ferrari and Force India ruling the roost and then quickly taken by Valtteri Bottas. Nico Rosberg looks primed and TAKES P1 with 6 minutes to go

Both Scuderia Ferrari drivers are out, with Vettel fastest in Q3 so far followed by Williams' Valtteri Bottas and his own teammate Kimi Raikkonen.

"You need to work hard to bring these up to temperature" say Force India to Nico Hulkenberg.

Under 12 minutes for the final battle for pole position at the Russian Grand Prix. McLaren, Marussia and Sauber have both drivers knocked out. Felipe Massa of Williams also does not make it through.

PROVISIONAL CLASSIFICATION (end of Q2) #RussianGP #Quali pic.twitter.com/wJOGsrK8CM
— Formula 1 (@F1) October 10, 2015

Chequered flags out for Q2 and Mercedes have set the pace again. Nico Rosberg leads the timings, followed by teammate Lewis Hamilton.

Valtteri Bottas in P3 with 1:38.228 and the Ferraris in P4 and P5 with 10 seconds to go in Q2!

With less than two minutes on the clock, we've sent our guys out on SuperSofts. 'Cause that's what we do. #RussianGP #FeelTheForce
— Sahara Force India (@ForceIndiaF1) October 10, 2015

Softer compounds this year mean that both of the times set by our drivers are quicker than the lap record #RussianGP http://t.co/EwJhKdPWkK
— MERCEDES AMG F1 (@MercedesAMGF1) October 10, 2015

Mercedes continue to dominate with Rosberg on top with 1:37.500 and 5 minutes to go in Q2. Hamilton at 1:37.672 in P2.

Sahara Force India's Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez are in P2 and P3 so far into the qualifying session, led by Nico Rosberg of Mercedes.

PROVISIONAL CLASSIFICATION (end of Q1) #RussianGP #Quali pic.twitter.com/6NyQdiVgWU
— Formula 1 (@F1) October 10, 2015

TOP 10 - END OF Q1 1 ROS 2 BOT 3 HAM 4 VET 5 MAS 6 GRO 7 RAI 8 HUL 9 VES 10 RIC #RussianGP #Quali pic.twitter.com/Hnstz8ka6G
— Formula 1 (@F1) October 10, 2015

Chequered flags out! Nico Rosberg leads with 1:38.343, behind him is teammate Lewis Hamilton 1:38.558.

Will Stevens and Roberto Merhi of Manor at the back of the field in the relegation zone currently, and Sergio Perez is under pressure with a minute to go in Q1.

Bottas and Verstappen say hello to each other as Q1 moves towards a climax at @SochiAutodrom #RussianGP #Quali pic.twitter.com/F6NtN57GdM
— Formula 1 (@F1) October 10, 2015

It's safe to say that @Dany_Kvyat is a popular guy in this part of the world... #RussianGP #Quali pic.twitter.com/KkBFHsTzVG
— Formula 1 (@F1) October 10, 2015

Both Ferraris are now out on the track; first Vettel, and now Raikkonen. Pastor Maldonado leads the speed trap with 332.2kph, but he's already spun off track within the first 5 minutes of qualifying.

"Really bad entry lap" says Nico Rosberg, about himself.

Both McLarens are in the top 6 - Fernando Alonso in P5 and Jenson Button in P6! Alonso will have grid penalties for a series of upgrades, so he'll begin at the back of the grid.

EARLY PACE-SETTERS (Q1): 1 ROS 2 HAM 3 HUL 4 GRO 5 VES 6 MAS 7 MAL 8 KVY #RussianGP #Quali pic.twitter.com/F8a8TB9emq
— Formula 1 (@F1) October 10, 2015

Both Mercedes have set times. Rosberg leads with 1:38.556, Hamilton behind him with 1:39.574. Lotus' Grosjean in P3 currently.

First lap completed for Felipe: 1:41.307 min which is currently P2 #FN12 #F1 #RussianGP
— Sauber F1 Team (@SauberF1Team) October 10, 2015

Williams' Valtteri Bottas is doing a 3-lapper. He's on the softs.

1.40.529 for Max Verstappen as Pastor Maldonado of Lotus spins off the track, bringing out the double yellows. He goes on, and so does the session.

.@pastormaldo first, then @rgrosjean head out for first #Q1 runs on softs pic.twitter.com/VM915qyHKX
— Lotus F1 Team (@Lotus_F1Team) October 10, 2015

15 minutes to go in the first session and Daniel Ricciardo of Red Bull is still not on the track. Max Verstappen, the only Toro Rosso on the track, has just taken the 90-degree turn 4 with ease.

Todo ok! Nada por lo que preocuparse! Ya pensando en cómo convencer a los médicos para que me dejen correr mañana! pic.twitter.com/8EihihWSnu
— Carlos Sainz (@carlosainz) October 10, 2015

FIA confirms barrier repairs are complete. Qualifying will start on schedule at 3pm.
— Jon Noble (@NobleF1) October 10, 2015

A big crash for Carlos Sainz Jr in FP3 brought the session to a halt, but the driver is okay. His car went into the protective barriers, which bore the brunt of the impact and led to a cancellation of the GP3 session. He's conscious and has had medical attention.

It's Fernando Alonso's 250th Grand Prix, and team McLaren are commemorating it in style - with a special logo and costumes for the double world champion!

Force India's Nico Hulkenberg topped first Practice, with a sleepy Felipe Massa of Williams not so sleepy on track in FP2. The Brazilian was one of only 8 drivers to go out onto the rainy Sochi track, and set the fastest time for that session.