Rosberg seals pole position with an impressive lap in the final session of qualifying. After making multiple mistakes on his lap, Hamilton dropped behind Ricciardo and will start the race down in third. Missing part of Q2 with a technical issue, he was on the back foot before the weekend really got underway.
SINGAPORE – SEPTEMBER 20 (Photo by Dan Istitene/Getty Images)
Q1
For Ferrari, the session was both disappointing and encouraging. For Raikkonen, it was a strong session, setting a time faster than both Mercedes drivers. But Vettel failed to make it out of Q1, after a broken anti-roll bar prevented him setting a competitive time.
His issue meant that the Sauber of Ericsson was able to push his way into the second session of qualifying, whilst his teammate finished 17th and failed to reach Q2. Both Renaults and both Manor where also knocked out.
Q2
After the strong start in Q1, Red Bull opted to set their Q2 times on the supersofts to try and gain a strategic advantage in the race. They both made it safely through and will start the race on the harder tyres. Mercedes stepped up a gear, with both drivers setting times over two seconds faster than those set in the first session.
Grosjean made a mistake on his lap, sending him into the barriers at turn 10. This was soon followed by Button stopping on track due to a puncture which he suffered after clipping the barrier. These incidents brought out the yellow flags, preventing many drivers from improving on their runs.
Williams were the team to lose out the most due to this, with both drivers unable to improve an find a way into the top ten shootout. Perez did improve, but was later handed an eight place penalty for ignoring the yellow flags, which will drop him to 18th.
So those who failed to make it into Q3 were both Williams drivers, Button and Grosjean. Gutierrez also missed out, only managing 14th, whilst the Sauber of Ericsson was 16th.
Q3
Before qualifying, it had looked as if Red Bull or maybe even Ferrari could challenge Mercedes for pole position. But a stunning initial run by Rosberg in Q3 gave them an incredibly tough job. Even his teammate Lewis Hamilton couldn’t get close, eventually finishing 7 tenths off after making a series of mistakes on his flying lap. A good job from Ricciardo meant he splits the Mercedes in 2nd, with Verstappen 4th.
Raikkonen was two tenths off Verstappen in 5th, with Sainz and Kvyat an impressive 6th and 7th for Toro Rosso. Hulkenberg will line up eighth, ahead of Alonso who will start 9th after a disappointing session. Perez was 10th but will drop to 18th with his penalty, promoting Bottas onto the fifth row of the grid.
The Grid
Perez is the only driver to serve a grid penalty this weekend, dropping 8 places for ignoring the yellow flags. Rosberg will start on pole, with Vettel last due to a mechanical issue, therefore the provisional grid for tomorrow’s race is:
Rosberg, Ricciardo; Hamilton, Verstappen; Raikkonen, Sainz; Kvyat, Hulkenberg; Alonso, Perez; Bottas, Massa; Button, Gutierrez; Grosjean, Ericsson; Magnussen, Nasr; Palmer, Wehrlein; Ocon, Vettel.