Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton has never started on the front row at Suzuka. His best starting slot to date is P3 which he's achieved 3 times: 2009, 2011 and 2013.

Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer

"The Grand Prix Drivers' Association works quietly behind the scenes to represent the drivers' interests in matters such as safety and it has appointed a new chairman in Alexander Wurz. The Austrian former Benetton, McLaren and Williams driver, who also works as an adviser to Williams as well as continuing his career at the highest level in sportscars, is hugely popular and respected within the paddock as a likeable and intelligent man.

"Sebastian Vettel, one of two GPDA directors along with Jenson Button said: 'Alex will be a great GPDA chairman. He is one of the most experienced drivers I know, full of positive new ideas.' Wurz said he wanted to reach out to fans, co-operate with the rule makers as they seek to make F1 more exciting, support the quest for increased safety, encourage those developments to reach the grass roots of the sport and promote safety and sustainability in F1 as a way to boost safety and cleanliness in road transport."

Image source, EPA

Red Bull boss Christian Horner suggests that Daniil Kvyat, who joins the reigning champions next season, will get a chance in the car at the final race of the season in Abu Dhabi ahead.

The big news of the morning, of course, is that Fernando Alonso is to leave Ferrari at the end of the season, with Sebastian Vettel quitting Red Bull to replace the Spaniard.

Alonso is expected to sign for McLaren while Daniil Kvyat gets the nod as Vettel's replacement at Red Bull.

Nico Rosberg leads the race for the pole position trophy with seven P1 grid slots to his Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton's six. Felipe Massa is the only other driver to start on pole, when he led the way in Austria.

Lewis Hamilton has overturned a 29-point deficit to lead Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg by three points with Daniel Ricciardo 57 further back. Check out the full standings here with five races - including this one - remaining.

Nico Rosberg finished fastest in final practice this morning, with Lewis Hamilton second, Fernando Alonso third and Felipe Massa fourth. Catch up on that session here.

Image source, Reuters

This was the moment the momentum swung back to Nico Rosberg as Lewis Hamilton hit the barriers on his qualifying-simulation run in final practice earlier this morning.

Image source, EPA

Morning and a very warm welcome to our live coverage of qualifying for the Japanese Grand Prix.

Whether you're just strolling in from a night on the titles or struggling to keep your eyes open after waking up early, I'd like to thank you for your company.

We've had a thrilling morning already, with more excitement to come, so let's get straight to it.

Sebastian Vettel in red, Fernando Alonso is silver and Daniil Kvyat in blue. It's all change for Formula 1 2015 with Jenson Button facing the prospect of collecting his P45.

You have 35 minutes until the qualifying build-up show starts on BBC One, which is coincidentally when I'll be back to revive this live text.

It's been a crazy morning - can it get any crazier? I can't wait to find out. See you shortly.

Here's Andrew Benson's final practice report. And if you're just tuning in, you can catch up on the latest driver market news, with Fernando Alonso leaving Ferrari to be replaced by Sebastian Vettel, here.

I've just had a glimpse of Eddie Jordan's shirt. It's one of my favourites, a blue floral number.

Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer

"Lewis Hamilton has given himself an uphill struggle in this crucial qualifying session in Suzuka with his crash in final practice. Assuming Mercedes can repair his car in time, he goes in blind, with no sense of how the car was behaving in qualifying trim.

"It's a handicap, but not an insurmountable one. Suzuka has not been a happy hunting ground for Hamilton, but he was in a similar situation in there in 2010, when a crash at Degner in first practice meant he missed all of Friday, and Saturday was a wash-out.

"But when qualifying was finally run on Sunday morning, he produced what I believe was one of his greatest ever laps to go third fastest behind the Red Bulls. He had to start eighth because of a gearbox change."

BBC F1 pit-lane reporter Jennie Gow says Sunday's race will start at the scheduled time of 15:00 local time, 07:00 BST. There will be no change despite forecast suggesting heavy rain is expected.

Janine Pingree:, external Oh Lewis! That's not gonna help your weekend. Suzuka is biting a lot of drivers this year.

I Am A PowerRanger:, external Lewis Hamilton in the wall with only a few hours until qualifying. Not ideal.

James Goodall:, external If Alonso and Vettel in same team would make rivalry between Hamilton and Rosberg look like just a minor annoyance.

So Nico Rosberg finishes just shy of one second faster than anyone else to set himself up perfectly for qualifying.

Esteban Gutierrez and Pastor Maldonado had off-track excursions but survived to fight another day. Lewis Hamilton was less fortunate, hitting the barriers when doing his qualifying-simulation run.

Fernando Alonso and the two Williams of Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas present the closest challenge while Sebastian Vettel lost a bunch of time with an engine issue.

Kimi Raikkonen didn't have much luck either, the Finn managing just five laps with his Ferrari spending most of the session up on stands.

1) Nico Rosberg 2) Lewis Hamilton 3) Fernando Alonso 4) Felipe Massa 5) Valtteri Bottas 6) Daniel Ricciardo 7) Kevin Magnussen 8) Jean-Eric Vergne 9) Daniil Kvyat 10) Jenson Button 11) Nico Hulkenberg

12) Kimi Raikkonen 13) Sergio Perez 14) Esteban Gutierrez 15) Sebastian Vettel 16) Romain Grosjean 17) Pastor Maldonado 18) Adrian Sutil 19) Marcus Ericsson 20 Max Chilton 21) Jules Bianchi 22) Kamui Kobayashi

Image source, Getty Images

Nico Rosberg finishes fastest in final practice for the Japanese Grand Prix as his Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton crashes at Turn One.

No one can get close to Nico Rosberg nor Lewis Hamilton, even though the Briton isn't going to complete a medium tyre run.