The Japanese Grand Prix 2015 takes place on Sunday and if qualifying is anything to go by then Mercedes will make a return to the top of the podium in Japan following their surprisingly lackluster performance in Singapore last week. The race has a scheduled start time of 6 a.m. BST (1 a.m. ET) on Sunday and can be watched online through live stream via the link below.
Nico Rosberg will be in pole position in Japan for Sunday's Grand Prix, defeating rival Lewis Hamilton for the pole for only the second time this year in the 13 races so far.
The qualifying result came about after Red Bull's Daniil Kvyat suffered a massive crash, rolling his car as his wheel caught the grass as he approached the Hairpin.
Kvyat thankfully walked away from the huge crash, however, his demolished car had parts strewn across the race track, and that stopped any other drivers from completing a final qualifying lap, depriving Hamilton from a last gasp attempt to steal pole away from Mercedes teammate Rosberg.
Hamilton had been just 0.076 seconds off of Rosberg on their first qualifying laps, and that was even with Hamilton making a big mistake at the notorious Hairpin. The British driver would have been confident of snatching pole had it not been for qualifying being cut short.
The Suzuka circuit in Japan is one of Formula One's most famous, and is a favorite with fans as it is an extremely difficult track, which is unforgiving even for the most minor of mistakes, as proven by Kvyat's crash.
Behind the two Mercedes will be William's Valtteri Botas, who finished ahead of Sebastian Vettel of Ferrari who could only make fourth this week following his success in Singapore last week.
Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen of Williams and Ferrari finished fifth and sixth respectively, leaving Daniel Ricciardo of Red Bull in sixth position on the grid.
Rosberg has expressed his delight at making pole, saying: "Very happy, great day today, and a good comeback for the team. It's fantastic after Singapore to be back to our usual strength. Pretty much nailed my laps today. Really pleased with the way it went."
Meanwhile, drivers championship leader, Lewis Hamilton contemplated what could have been had he been able to finish his second lap: "The second lap was looking good. The first lap I lost a bit of time in Turn 11 and the last corner. Nico is driving very well this weekend but I was feeling pretty good on that last lap."
The F1 Japanese Grand Prix 2015 has a scheduled start time of 1 a.m. ET and can be watched online through live stream by clicking here.
