Nico Rosberg will start on pole position for the Brazilian Grand Prix ahead of team-mate Lewis Hamilton and home hero Felipe Massa.
Rosberg has been utterly dominant this weekend topping every session which means he will start on pole position for the tenth time this season meaning he will claim the FIA Pole Position Trophy. Felipe Massa qualified third at his home race ahead of team-mate Valtteri Bottas who made a mistake on his final run. The McLaren’s of Jenson Button and Kevin Magnussen line-up fifth and sixth ahead of last season’s Brazilian Grand Prix winner Sebastian Vettel and Daniel Ricciardo.
Rain was expected to trench the circuit before Q1 however it never materialised. Unlike previous races, majority of the driver’s went out on the soft tyres except the Williams’ and McLaren’s. Fernando Alonso vented his frustration over team radio as Pastor Maldonado passed Alonso during his final lap. Ultimately it was Romain Grosjean, Jean-Eric Vergne, Sergio Perez and Pastor Maldonado who were knocked out in the first part of qualifying.
The second part of qualifying showed the battle for pole position would be closer than expected as Massa and Bottas were second and third fastest albeit only one tenth off pacesetter Rosberg. Further down the field, Esteban Gutierrez enjoyed his strongest qualifying of the season as he will start eleventh on the grid and missed out on Q3 by only two tenths of a second. Nico Hulkenberg, Adrian Sutil and Daniil Kvyat were also knocked out in Q2.
The pole position shoot-out saw Rosberg lead Hamilton, Massa and Bottas. The two Williams’ failed to improve on their final runs meaning it was left to the Mercedes to fight for pole position. Hamilton made a mistake at turn ten however still improved however was later beaten by team-mate Rosberg by only 0.033.
The forecast for tomorrow is expected to be wet thus leaving the race unpredictable.
