Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/392875
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 5 OCTOBER 2014 49 Sport FORMULA 1 NICO Rosberg took a key step for- ward in his quest to wrest back the lead of the world championship from Mercedes team mate Lewis Hamilton when he beat the Briton to pole position by 0.197s in Satur- day afternoon's qualif ying session in Japan. Hamilton had shrugged off his morning crash in FP3 to beat Ros- berg by 0.060s in Q1, where he topped the times with 1m 33.611s on the hard-compound Pirellis. Further back, both Saubers vault- ed into Q2 in the dying moments on the medium rubber, at the ex- pense of the Lotuses which strug- gled for traction. Pastor Maldo- nado ended up 17th on 1m 35.917s with Romain Grosjean 18th on 1m 35.984s. But having used his sixth engine this weekend, Maldonado will drop five grid places here, with the remainder of his 10-place penalt y carrying over into Russia next weekend. Marcus Ericsson led the rear guard, setting a time of 1m 36.813s for Caterham right at the end which moved him back in front of Jules Bianchi 's Marussia on 1m 36.943s. Their respective team mates, Kamui Kobayashi and Max Chilton, were 21st and 22nd on 1m 37.015s and 1m 37.481s. Rosberg headed Hamilton by 0.032s in Q2 on 1m 32.950s, after a lock-up at the hairpin cost the latter a little bit. They were so far ahead they didn't have to do sec- ond runs, as Ferrari 's Fernando Alonso chased the Williams duo of Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Mas- sa in their wake. This time it was the Toro Ros- sos, the Force Indias and the Sau- bers which failed to make the cut. Jean-Eric Vergne was 11th fastest on 1m 34.984s in the lead Toro Rosso, ahead of the Force India of Sergio Perez on 1m 35.089s, the second Toro Rosso of Daniil Kv- yat on 1m 35.092s, and the other Force India of Nico Hulkenberg on 1m 35.099s. At Sauber, Adrian Su- til finally got the better of Esteban Gutierrez, with 1m 35.364s to 1m 35.681s. In Q3 Rosberg ruled the roost, setting the fastest time of 1m 32.629s on his first run and paring that down to 1m 32.506s to get the job done. Hamilton locked up go- ing into the hairpin on each of his runs, and his 1m 33.703s just came up short on the faster of them. But the Mercedes duo were again light years ahead of the opposition, led again by Williams as Bottas posted 1m 33.128s for third ahead of Massa on 1m 33.527s. Alonso was again the closest to them, with 1m 33.740s for Ferrari. Red Bull had to be content with Daniel Ricciardo in sixth on 1m 34.075s and Sebastian Vettel ninth on 1m 34.432s. The Aus- tralian will share row three with Alonso, while the McLarens of Kevin Magnussen and Jenson But- ton share row four on 1m 34.242s and 1m 34.317s respectively. Vet- tel was joined on row five by Fer- rari 's Kimi Raikkonen, who lapped his F14 T in 1m 34.548s. Thus the grid will line up: Ros- berg, Hamilton; Bottas, Massa; Alonso, Ricciardo; Magnus- sen, Button; Vettel, Raikkonen; Vergne, Perez; Kv yat, Hulkenberg; Sutil, Gutierrez; Grosjean, Erics- son; Bianchi, Kobayashi; Chilton, Maldonado. Rosberg beats Hamilton to Suzuka pole Williams' Valtteri Bottas (right) ends qualifying in third, the nearest challenger to Mercedes duo Nico Rosberg (centre, on pole) and Lewis Hamilton (left) Vettel leaving Red Bull for Ferrari Sebastian Vettel has insisted a poor 2014 season has not prompted him to leave Red Bull and seemingly set up a move to Ferrari SEBASTIAN Vettel has insisted a poor 2014 season has not prompted him to leave Red Bull and seemingly set up a move to Ferrari. The 27-year-old has won the last four drivers' championships whilst with Red Bull but a statement circu- lated early on Saturday morning con- firmed the German was leaving. The current season has proved more challenging for Vettel, who is currently fifth in the drivers' stand- ings going into this weekend's Japa- nese Grand Prix - 117 points adrift of leader Lewis Hamilton. With the new regulations and a Re- nault power unit that has been out- classed by that of Mercedes, as well as new team-mate Daniel Ricciardo picking up three wins to Vettel's none, he will leave Red Bull having re- linquished his firm grip on the title. A second-placed finish in Singapore in the last grand prix is Vettel's best result of the year to date - he has only stood on the podium on two other oc- casions. But, having previously won 38 races with Red Bull, Vettel has said his deci- sion to leave is not down to a drop in performance. "This is not a decision against Red Bull, it is for something else," he said. "Red Bull did nothing wrong, we part as friends and it has nothing to do with the results even though they are not what we expected. "I am loyal and I did not breach any contract. I am not running away from anything but there are times in life when you need something new and if there is an opportunity you have to grab it." Ferrari is almost certainly Vettel's destination as he looks set to replace two-time champion Fernando Alon- so at the Italian marque. Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said Vettel had been made a good offer by Ferrari - but warned his current driver he could end up behind a Red Bull for much of next season. "Ferrari have made him a very at- tractive offer," Horner told Sky Sports F1. "It was a pretty busy evening. Obvi- ously it was pretty emotional. We've had five fantastic years and won eight world championships together. "Sebastian has thought long and and hard about this and decided that the time is right for him to take on a new challenge. "If someone's heart is not 100 per cent in his workplace then it would be wrong to force them to stay...He's a wonderful driver and we've enjoyed six fantastic seasons with him. But he will be a competitor from January 1 and he'll be looking at a Red Bull rear wing for a while." With Vettel departing, Toro Rosso's Daniil Kvyat will step up to the senior team - the latest of Red Bull's junior drivers to make an impact on the sport. Vettel himself honed his craft at Toro Rosso with Ricciardo, who ad- mitted he was 'a little surprised' with the news and has also raced with the feeder team. Ricciardo will look to build a good understanding with Rus- sian Kyvat - who Horner described as 'the best option'. With Vettel seemingly on the verge of joining Ferrari, it is likely that Red Bull's announcement will kick-start a wave of driver changes with several other big names still unsure of their future. Two-time world champion Alonso has not committed his future to the Italian team and, with Vettel all-but confirmed for 2015, a move elsewhere - most likely back to McLaren - looks likely with the other option seeing the Spaniard take a self-imposed one-year sabbatical from the sport. That in turn throws into doubt the destiny of 2009 champion Jenson Button, whose deal with McLaren ex- pires at the end of the season. The Brit has been confident of re- taining his seat with the Woking- based team and could yet form a strong partnership with Alonso were McLaren to decide to keep the 34- year-old on when the team switches to Honda engines next year. Sebastian Vettel Nico Rosberg (GER) Mercedes AMG F1 W05