Japanese Grand Prix: Nico Rosberg on pole

Japanese Grand Prix Qualifying report: Nico Rosberg on pole, Dany Kvyat in big crash

Session is over after red flags out. Nico Rosberg is on pole!

Just over 2 minutes to go and all drivers are out. Rosberg on provisional pole.

Nico Rosberg on provisional pole with 1:32.584 followed by Lewis Hamilton, 0.076 behind his teammate.

PROVISIONAL CLASSIFICATION: End of Q2 #JapaneseGP #Quali pic.twitter.com/5xxnrh3uMC
— Formula 1 (@F1) September 26, 2015

Chequered flag is out and Rosberg in P1, Hamilton is in P2. Mercedes leads the pack followed by Kimi Raikkonen.

SPEED TRAP: @MercedesAMGF1 duo leading the way during Q2 #Quali #JapaneseGP pic.twitter.com/XaTAUV465W
— Formula 1 (@F1) September 26, 2015

3 minutes to go and Pastor Maldonado is currrently at the bottom, 3.170 seconds behind leader Rosberg.

Max Verstappen's abrupt stop was caused by a loss of power, says the Dutch driver. He was out of Qualifying in Q1 although his time was sufficient for progress.

Mercedes and Williams lead Q2 with 8 minutes to go. Kimi Raikkonen's on his first timed lap of the session. He goes P3.

10 minutes to go in Q2 with Nico Rosberg leading Lewis Hamilton by a hundredth of a second. They're followed by Daniil Kvyat, all on primes.

PROVISIONAL CLASSIFICATION: End of Q1 #JapaneseGP pic.twitter.com/0fGHT5grSR
— Formula 1 (@F1) September 26, 2015

BREAKING NEWS: ELIMINATED DRIVERS (Q1) 16 BUT 17 ERI 18 NAS 19 STE 20 RSI #F1 #JapaneseGP pic.twitter.com/gYWaXhYHZn
— Formula 1 (@F1) September 26, 2015

Last 3 minutes of Q1 and Mercedes are the pacesetters with Hamilton and Rosberg in P1 and P2 followed by Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen.

Both Ferraris are out, also on hard compounds.

Quickest times of the day so far for both @LewisHamilton & @nico_rosberg going P1 and P2 after the first flying lap http://t.co/EwJhKe7xci
— MERCEDES AMG F1 (@MercedesAMGF1) September 26, 2015

Medium compounds for Sauber and Manor-Marussia as well as McLaren's Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button.

Marcus Ericsson spins out at Spoon and is now back on track #Q1 #JapaneseGP
— SK Formula One (@SK_Formula1) September 26, 2015

The Mercedes drivers are now ahead of the pack with reigning champion Lewis Hamilton on 1:33.595 followed by Nico Rosberg and Daniel Ricciardo.

Max Verstappen with 1:35.415 the early pacesetter in Q1 ahead of Lotus' Romain Grosjean.

Both Toro Rossos - Verstappen and Sainz are on hard tyres.

And they're off! Red Bull and Lotus are both out, as is Force India's Nico Hulkenberg. It's slightly cloudy, but no rain today so far.

5 minutes until qualifying at the Japanese Grand Prix - the fight for pole position begins!

DID YOU KNOW: Michael Schumacher has the record for most pole positions at Suzuka with a staggering 8.He's followed by Sebastian Vettel with 4, and Ayrton Senna, who had 3.

After two days of rain, Suzuka is finally sunny with a lower likelihood of precipitation at the track. After Red Bull Racing's Dany Kvyat dominated days 1 and 2, Mercedes' Nico Rosberg topped FP3.