Tomorrow's plan of action is as follows. The live text will kick off at 05:30 BST, with BBC One joining the party at 06:00. We then sit and wait for the rain to come before the lights go out at 07:00.

It was mighty close between the Mercedes drivers at Suzuka, but it was Nico Rosberg who came out on top as Lewis Hamilton paid for his mistake in final practice.

So all that's left to say is it's a very good morning from him.

Image source, Getty Images

And it's a very good morning from me. Until tomorrow, folks. Until tomorrow.

Here's Andrew Benson's qualifying report., external Watch out for video highlights of that session on the F1 pages later today. You can also watch a re-run on BBC One at 13:00 BST.

Janine Pingree:, external Well done to Valtteri Bottas on another great quali performance! Great to see another Finn fighting at the top.

"Mercedes looked really quick yesterday and this morning so it was nice to get a bit closer," says Williams' Valtteri Bottas, who qualified third.

"They will be quick tomorrow but as a team we have to be happy with third and fourth. We might struggle a little more in the wet but there seems to be a margin behind us so hopefully we can still fight for a podium."

Image source, Getty Images

Nico Rosberg now has 12 career poles, putting him level with Gerhard Berger and our very own David Coulthard.

Image source, Reuters

Lewis Hamilton's clearly not happy, the Briton choosing to give very short answers during interviews. "It was not the best of sessions," he tells Lee McKenzie. "I think it was decent recovery considering the crash.

"I just overcooked it but the team did a great job to put the car back together. I feel good, I just wasn't quick enough today. I'm still second. We've seen races where we've come from further back."

"Today was surprise - the announcement of Vettel leaving Red Bull," says Fernando Alonso. "Everyone was waiting for an announcement on my side, but the situation on my side is that the priority is to help Ferrari this weekend.

"Let's say I have had my mind set for two or three months, everything is moving in the right direction but I am still not 100% decided. I can go more or less where I want to go in the time I want to go and I will use my time in the best way.

On possibility of Vettel being his team-mate at Ferrari: "Anything is a possibility. I don't know if he is going to Ferrari first of all. My first priority is to help my team in these races, then my future and Sebastian is very low priority at the moment.

"My plan is going well, everything is moving in the right direction, hopefully soon [something will be announced]."

Fernando Alonso scratches his beard throughout his interview with Lee McKenzie and unsurprisingly fails to give any definitive answers about his future.

Red Bull boss Christian Horner says the split with Sebastian Vettel is "100% amicable" and adds: "I think he's ready for a new challenge. He's at a stage of his career where he's ready for a new challenge. I think that was at the bottom of his decision."

Daniel Ricciardo has comfortably outperformed Vettel this year, having been promoted from Toro Rosso. "Daniel has had an amazing year, that's nine times to six that he has outqualifed Seb," says Horner. "Seb has had quite a few issues this year but take nothing away from Daniel.

"We thought Daniel was a risk, as we think Kvyat is a risk, but he has delivered. I don't think any of us, even Daniel, thought he would be third in the drivers' championship having won three grands prix."

Image source, Getty Images

"I was not entirely happy today," adds Vettel. "We lacked some running and didn't seem to be able to get what we expected in the corners that I usually love. There is still a chance because tomorrow I think there's rain."

On leaving Red Bull, Vettel says: "It is a tough step after such a long time together with Red Bull. After so many fantastic years, I did and still am enjoying my time, but at some stage in life you want to do something else, something new. It is not the first time I have been approached but it felt like the right time.

"I'm not leaving because I don't like the team or individuals, I'm not running away from anything. The voice inside me, the hunger to do something new was bigger. It was not the easiest decision but you have to listen to your heart."

Speaking for the first time since news broke that he is leaving Red Bull, Sebastian Vettel doesn't confirm his Ferrari move: "I don't have anything I can confirm now. For now, I can't say much. It shouldn't be too long."

"Nico was extremely quick and I did the best I could," says Lewis Hamilton, who qualified second. "The guys did a great job to rebuild the car (after his crash in final practice), so big thanks to them.

"I wasn't really feeling it today, don't know why. I am looking forward to tomorrow and all the tricky weather that will come.

On tyre vibrations during qualifying: "I had that all throughout the run, it may have been a tyre imbalance, but it did not get in the way of the result."

When asked about the wet weather forecast for tomorrow, Rosberg adds: "We are as prepared as we can be, we are expecting it to be wet. Our last experience in the wet was at Spa where the car was very quick. So I'm very optimistic, even if it rains. It could be even better."

Image source, Getty Images

"I'm not thinking about Singapore," says Nico Rosberg. "We're here at Suzuka and I'm trying to win. It was great today, but that's only one step on the way. It was a real pleasure because the car is so amazing to drive. It was really cool."

Luke Spurdle:, external McLaren F1 are ok placed considering anything could and will happen at the Japanese GP with the weather.

Amy Brown:, external What was going on, Lewis? :-(

Rian Hoskins:, external Vettel's performance was disappointing. Usually excels at Suzuka. Maybe 2015 is playing on his mind and is now his main focus.

Mercedes:, external Front row lock out, F1 silly season in full swing, typhoon on the way... again, someone tell us this sport is boring!

"They are competing on a a very high level, they are trying to extract the maximum from the car," says Mercedes co-team boss Toto Wolff.

When asked if Lewis Hamilton's final practice crash compromised his qualifying, Wolff said: "For sure it was compromised. It was his sector, but then he shunted the car. That was sitting at the back of his mind."

Nico Rosberg finished six tenths clear of the closest non-Mercedes car Valtteri Bottas of Williams. That's his eighth pole position of the season.

1) Nico Rosberg 2) Lewis Hamilton 3) Valtteri Bottas 4) Felipe Massa 5) Fernando Alonso 6) Daniel Ricciardo 7) Kevin Magnussen 8) Jenson Button 9) Sebastian Vettel 10) Kimi Raikkonen

11) Jean-Eric Vergne 12) Sergio Perez 13) Daniil Kvyat 14) Nico Hulkenberg 15) Adrian Sutil 16) Esteban Gutierrez

17) Pastor Maldonado 18) Romain Grosjean 19) Marcus Ericsson 20) Jules Bianchi 21) Kamui Kobayashi 22) Max Chilton

"Thank you guys, thank you very much," says Nico "Mr Consistent" Rosberg on team radio.

Lewis Hamilton's wait for a pole at Suzuka goes one. However, second on the grid will be his best ever starting slot at this circuit.