Summary

  • Rosberg on pole, Hamilton 2nd, Vettel 3rd

  • Bottas 4th, Raikkonen 5th, Hulkenberg 6th

  • Hamilton top in Q1 & Q2

  • Williams and Red Bulls through to Q3 with Ferraris

  • Both McLarens, Manors and Maldonado out in Q1

  • Alonso breaks down immediately in Q1

Live Reporting

Chris Osborne

  1. Nice one Nico

    So that's five consecutive poles for Nico Rosberg and back-to-back poles in Brazil.

    You would call it championship-winning form, if that ship had not already sailed.

  2. First qualifying ends

    Oh so close. So close. Lewis Hamilton had time to make up in the third sector and drops in 0.078secs short of his team-mate.

  3. Nico Rosberg goes even faster... What can Lewis Hamilton do?

  4. David Coulthard
    BBC F1 co-commentator

    "It could be that psychologically for Nico Rosberg the pressure is off. If golf they might have called it the yips. Now, with the world title gone to Hamilton, he is able to just to get on and drive and suddenly he has found some extra speed in qualifying."

  5. With two minutes remaining, the cars are out for their second pop. Max Verstappen is yet to record a time.

  6. David Coulthard
    BBC F1 co-commentator

    "Felipe Massa does not seem to be able to find his form on a track that he knows well and usually produces his best. It may be that he cannot quite find the balance of the car to give him the confidence to produce his best. Sometimes the telemetry does not tell you everything."

  7. As it stands: ROS, HAM, VET, BOT, RAI, RIC, MAS, HUL, KVY

  8. Get Involved

    #bbcf1

  9. Sebastian Vettel slides into P3, but he is 0.618 secs behind leader Nico Rosberg.

    Then it's Valtteri Bottas, followed by Kimi Raikkonen.

  10. David Coulthard
    BBC F1 co-commentator

    "That was a big lock-up for Hamilton into turn 10 and that will have damaged his front right tyre."

  11. Valtteri Bottas and Nico Hulkenberg are the next drivers to record laps, but they're more than half a second behind.

  12. Nico Rosberg - fastest lap of the weekend: 1:11.461.

    Lewis Hamilton - just under: 1:11.549.

    They're the times to beat.

    Seven minutes remaining.

  13. Christian HornerGetty Images

    Red Bull principal Christian Horner: "Unfortunately sector one and three are dominated by the long uphill straight that does not play to our strengths. In sector two we are fifth or sixth fastest which is respectable, especially considering the amount of downforce that we are running.

    "I reckon that Nico Rosberg has saved his tyres in the second section to keep them fresh for the race itself, which might be a smart move."

  14. Felipe Nasr is soaking up the atmosphere in front of the Brazilian fans. The Sauber man is in P11, but could be pegged back if the stewards think he impeded Felipe Massa in Q1.

    Nasr

  15. Final qualifying starts

    It's the top-10 shoot-out. Here we go.

  16. Eddie Jordan
    BBC F1 chief analyst

    "I think that Fernando and Jenson are trying to make a joke of it to cover the pain a bit. They want to see the end of this season as soon as possible to put it past them."

  17. Jenson

    McLaren's Jenson Button: "It was a lot closer to 15th than I thought and the car was running a lot better than I thought. I think we were running just too little aero balance. The car is not bad to drive, I enjoyed it today, but the pace is not there. Rain, anything like that, helps us."  

  18. At the risk of this becoming the Max Verstappen fan club page, he has outshone his Toro Rosso team-mate Carlos Sainz there.

    Although Sainz did complain over his team radio about a problem with his readings on the dashboard.

  20. Felipe Nasr, Carlos Sainz, Sergio Perez, Marcus Ericsson and Romain Grosjean are eliminated. 

    Max Verstappen made a great leap to come in eighth.