Japanese Formula 1 Grand Prix 2014: Results, Times for Practice and Qualifying

Lewis Hamilton finally toppled his Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg with victory at last month's Singapore Grand Prix, an occurrence which had seemed inevitable ever since the Englishman refused team orders to let the German pass in Hungary.

Asia has been kind to Hamilton so far this season. Victory in the Malaysian Grand Prix seems a world away now, but his confident drive in Singapore—combined with Rosberg's untimely retirement last time out—sees the Brit three points clear of his rival.

Just five races remain in a race to the title which is sure to go all the way. Rosberg hasn't won a race since he topped the Nurburgring track in his homeland, and has only finished above Hamilton once in the last four races. Every single point counts right now, as the stakes continue to rise in a championship sprint which could be defined by a moment of magic or minor mistake.

"We are also now entering arguably the most intense phase of the racing season: the final quarter," said Mercedes executive director Toto Wolff, per Byron Young of the Mirror. "Inside the team, motivation is stronger now than at any point so far this year. Every single one of us wants to finish 2014 in style."

Suzuka provides the perfect backdrop for the 15th meet of the season. Typhoon Phanfone is scheduled to batter the track throughout the weekend, reported by Luke Smith of NBC Sports, perhaps heightening the sense of drama that is set to unfold.

Organisers may be forced to push the race forward to Saturday if this looks likely, reported by Daniel Johnson of The Telegraph. Strategies will obviously have to be tweaked if the wet sets in, perhaps opening the weekend up to a surprise result. 

Hamilton and Rosberg look to be the only title-worthy duo right now, despite the hard work of Daniel Ricciardo and Fernando Alonso. Ricciardo has won two of the last four, finishing third in Singapore. Alonso came out on top in practice before taking fourth in the last race, but the pair are undoubtedly battling for third, not a shot at glory. 

Qualifying: Superb Performance Hands Nico Rosberg Japanese Grand Prix Pole

Mark Thompson/Getty Images

Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg claimed pole position in the Japanese Grand Prix on Saturday morning, as the World Championship pendulum swung the German’s way.

Lewis Hamilton had previously crashed out in the third practice session earlier on Saturday, and that may well have been at the back of his mind despite the fact that he pushed Rosberg all the way.

However, his Mercedes teammate just had an ounce too much class, and secured pole by two-tenths of a second.

It was looking for all the world as if the general classification leader was to set the bar once again, but Rosberg’s final run of 1:32:506 was simply too fast for the Englishman as he claimed his eighth pole of the season.

That’s something that Hamilton himself reflected on after qualifying had come to an end, saying that he did his all to keep up with his teammate—per Sky Sports:

"Nico was very fast today, I did the best I could. Today I wasn't really feeling it.”

The 29-year-old was visibly out of sorts at Suzuka, and he’ll need to pull himself together before Sunday’s race or see the World Championship slip from his grasp.

Elsewhere, Williams’ Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa made up the second row, with the former producing one of the laps of the day.

A time of 1:33:128 propelled Bottas into the top three, and if he continues such form then he can be considered a threat to the Mercedes duo on Sunday.

Fernando Alonso and Daniel Ricciardo will start fifth and sixth respectively, but they’ll need to produce something special to catch Rosberg if he remains in this kind of mood.

Currently sitting three points behind Hamilton in the World Championship standings, the German looked more determined than ever to see his name in the number 1 spot once again—and you’d be brave to bet against that happening on Sunday.

Here’s a look at the full results from qualifying in Suzuka—via Formula 1:

Position	Driver	Team	Q1	Q2	Q3
1	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	1:33.671	1:32.950	1:32.506
2	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:33.611	1:32.982	1:32.703
3	Valtteri Bottas	Williams-Mercedes	1:34.301	1:33.443	1:33.128
4	Felipe Massa	Williams-Mercedes	1:34.483	1:33.551	1:33.527
5	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	1:34.497	1:33.675	1:33.740
6	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing-Renault	1:35.593	1:34.466	1:34.075
7	Kevin Magnussen	McLaren-Mercedes	1:34.930	1:34.229	1:34.242
8	Jenson Button	McLaren-Mercedes	1:35.150	1:34.648	1:34.317
9	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing-Renault	1:35.517	1:34.784	1:34.432
10	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	1:34.984	1:34.771	1:34.548
11	Jean-Eric Vergne	STR-Renault	1:35.155	1:34.984
12	Sergio Perez	Force India-Mercedes	1:35.439	1:35.089
13	Daniil Kvyat	STR-Renault	1:35.210	1:35.092
14	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India-Mercedes	1:35.000	1:35.099
15	Adrian Sutil	Sauber-Ferrari	1:35.736	1:35.364
16	Esteban Gutierrez	Sauber-Ferrari	1:35.308	1:35.681
17	Pastor Maldonado	Lotus-Renault	1:35.917
18	Romain Grosjean	Lotus-Renault	1:35.984
19	Marcus Ericsson	Caterham-Renault	1:36.813
20	Jules Bianchi	Marussia-Ferrari	1:36.943
21	Kamui Kobayashi	Caterham-Renault	1:37.015
22	Max Chilton	Marussia-Ferrari	1:37.481

P3: Nico Rosberg Fastest in Final Practice Session

Shizuo Kambayashi/Associated Press

The final practice session of the Japanese Grand Prix on Saturday morning belonged to Nico Rosberg, who put himself back to the top of the leaderboard after his Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton crashed out.

Hamilton appeared to outbrake himself entering the 150mph Turn 1, and ended up running off onto the gravel before coming into contact with the tyre wall.

Though the damage to the number 44 Mercedes was minimal, the damage to the Brit’s chances of keeping his place at the top of practice standings was catastrophic.

Rosberg went on to set a time of 1:33:228, and you can take nothing away from the German, who produced an excellent drive to give himself the upper hand.

Hamilton finished 0.982 seconds back, while Fernando Alonso, Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas made up the top five.

Qualifying is expected to be dry, but Mercedes have a lot of work to do getting Hamilton’s car back up to speed, as well as his usually reliable brilliance.

Here’s a look at the top 10 times for P3, provided by the official Formula 1 website: 

Position	Driver	Team	Time/Gap
1	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	1:33:22
2	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	0.982
3	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	1.211
4	Felipe Massa	Williams	1.336
5	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	1.833
6	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull	1.858
7	Kevin Magnussen	McLaren	2.023
8	Jean-Eric Vergne	Renault	2.266
9	Daniil Kvyat	Renault	2.310
10	Jenson Button	McLaren	2.321

P2: Lewis Hamilton Fights Back to Lead 2nd Practice Session

Clive Mason/Getty Images

If the morning belonged to Nico Rosberg, the afternoon was Lewis Hamilton's. The former champion overcame his morning scuffle with the gravel to lead the second practice session, finishing above the early pace set by his colleague.

Hamilton went 0.383 quicker than Rosberg's morning time, eclipsing his rival by 0.240 on the second run. The session was cut short via a red flag given to Jean-Eric Vergne, who pulled to the side of the track with unspecified trouble, per Lawrence Barretto of BBC Sport.

Daniel Ricciardo also made an uncharacteristic mistake to crash out, but still finished middle of the grid after just three laps. Max Verstappen was unable to return after his impressive display earlier in the day, while Valtteri Bottas emerged as the best of the rest behind the Mercedes frontrunners.

The first two practice sessions have underlined just how close the race for this year's championship is shaping up to be. Both Hamilton and Rosberg are proving difficult during practice and qualifying, but the latter needs to quickly rediscover his nerve if he's to stop Hamilton extending his lead when the main race kicks off.

Here's the full results, per the Formula 1 website:

Pos	No	Driver	Team	Time/Retired	Gap	Laps
1	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:35.078		28
2	6	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	1:35.318	0.240	27
3	77	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	1:36.279	1.201	24
4	22	Jenson Button	McLaren	1:36.409	1.331	28
5	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull	1:36.436	1.358	24
6	7	Kimi Raikkonen	Ferrari	1:36.529	1.451	19
7	14	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	1:36.637	1.559	26
8	20	Kevin Magnussen	McLaren	1:36.714	1.636	31
9	26	Daniil Kvyat	STR	1:36.943	1.865	27
10	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull	1:37.186	2.108	3
11	25	Jean-Eric Vergne	STR	1:37.219	2.141	19
12	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India	1:37.504	2.426	16
13	8	Romain Grosjean	Lotus	1:37.563	2.485	31
14	19	Felipe Massa	Williams	1:37.700	2.622	18
15	11	Sergio Perez	Force India	1:37.786	2.708	8
16	13	Pastor Maldonado	Lotus	1:37.798	2.720	27
17	99	Adrian Sutil	Sauber	1:38.010	2.932	25
18	21	Esteban Gutierrez	Sauber	1:38.365	3.287	9
19	9	Marcus Ericsson	Caterham	1:39.069	3.991	22
20	17	Jules Bianchi	Marussia	1:39.306	4.228	20
21	4	Max Chilton	Marussia	1:39.333	4.255	24
22	10	Kamui Kobayashi	Caterham	1:42.760	7.682	3

P1: Nico Rosberg Edges Lewis Hamilton in Opening Exchange

Clive Mason/Getty Images

Nico Rosberg stamped his authority on the Japanese Grand Prix by topping Friday morning's practice charts at Suzuka. The German, who surrendered the championship lead to Lewis Hamilton with his retirement in Singapore, is searching for form at this crucial stage of the season.

Rosberg finished just 0.151 seconds ahead of his team-mate and rival, completing an extra lap and giving himself the early advantage. Hamilton slid off track but managed to keep the car running during his session, but showed little signs of nerves as he continued to challenge.

Alonso maintained pace with the top two, but the session's remarkable result goes to youngster Max Verstappen, who finished 12th during his first appearance on track. The 17-year-old become the youngest driver to grace an F1 track before his engine failed.

The emerging star certainly underplayed his achievements after the session. "I was enjoying it a lot—that was the main thing," said Verstappen, per Lawrence Barretto of BBC Sport. "I think in the end, I did quite a good job."  

Pastor Maldonado was handed a 10-place grid penalty for using his sixth engine of the season, reported by Barretto.

You can check the full rundown of results below, recorded by the official Formula 1 website:

Pos	No	Driver	Team	Time/Retired	Gap	Laps
1	6	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	1:35.461		27
2	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:35.612	0.151	26
3	14	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	1:36.037	0.576	19
4	77	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	1:36.576	1.115	25
5	7	Kimi Raikkonen	Ferrari	1:37.187	1.726	19
6	20	Kevin Magnussen	McLaren	1:37.327	1.866	24
7	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull	1:37.466	2.005	27
8	22	Jenson Button	McLaren	1:37.649	2.188	24
9	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull	1:37.686	2.225	26
10	26	Danill Kvyat	STR	1:37.714	2.253	26
11	19	Felipe Massa	Williams	1:38.012	2.551	22
12	38	Max Verstappen	STR	1:38.157	2.696	22
13	11	Sergio Perez	Force India	1:38.324	2.863	10
14	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India	1:38.582	3.121	9
15	8	Romain Grosjean	Lotus	1:38.851	3.390	21
16	99	Adrian Sutil	Sauber	1:39.046	3.585	19
17	13	Pastor Maldonado	Lotus	1:39.097	3.636	26
18	21	Esteban Gutierrez	Sauber	1:39.318	3.857	18
19	9	Marcus Ericsson	Caterham	1:40.031	4.570	18
20	45	Roberto Merhi	Caterham	1:41.472	6.011	24
21	17	Jules Bianchi	Marussia	1:41.580	6.119	10
22	4	Max Chilton	Marussia	1:41.757	6.296	15