Rosberg takes pole in Brazil to claim the F1 pole trophy as Mercedes lock out the front row

(Mercedes AMG PETRONAS F1 Team)

Mercedes AMG PETRONAS F1 Team's Nico Rosberg will start tomorrow's Brazilian Grand Prix from the front after claiming his tenth pole position of the season and by doing so has won the new for 2014 pole position trophy awarded to the driver with the most pole starts in the season.

The German will start the race just ahead of team mate and championship leader Lewis Hamilton having claimed pole by just 0.033s setting up what should be an fantastic start to the penultimate race of the 2014 Formula One season. Speaking following the session Rosberg stated:

'I’m very happy with the weekend so far. The last run in qualifying was not my best but it was good enough to start from pole. And I’m pleased to start from the clean side of the grid, which should be a good thing for me. 

With the team I’ve reviewed why Austin didn’t work out perfectly for me and we’ve done a race simulation already this morning with high fuel levels in the car, so I learned a few things that I can improve and am quite confident I can do a better job in this race. Of course, I need a bit of help from my team-mate to make the World Championship happen. But I’m still highly motivated and will continue to push as hard as I can all the way.'

Lewis Hamilton goes into this weekend's race looking for his eleventh race win of the season and his sixth win in a row. Speaking following the session the 2008 world champion stated:

'I’m probably happier with second than I’ve ever been and I’m really pleased with the way we qualified as a team. It was so, so close out there and my lap wasn’t perfect, so I know there’s more time to find and where I can find it.

I love being right on the limit, racing close and having a good battle – that’s what Formula One is all about. Nico has been quick all weekend and I’ve been chasing and chasing – but what’s important in my mind is that I’ve been improving with every session and I’ve found a good balance. Tomorrow is where the points are awarded and anything can happen at Interlagos as we’ve seen in the past. I’m looking forward to a good race and hopefully another strong result for the team.'

The Brackley based outfit go into tomorrow's race looking to secure their eleventh 1-2 finish of the season and their fourth in a row and speaking following the session Mercedes Executive Director (Business) Toto Wolff stated:

'That was a classic Formula One qualifying session where everything came down to the final lap of the final session. Nico’s pace is just incredible at the moment – like we saw on Saturday in Austin, too. Lewis has had the advantage recently in terms of race craft but there is nothing to choose between them on speed and it’s a great achievement for Nico to claim the pole position trophy this year. 

They were both absolutely flat out this afternoon – they can take nothing for granted in each session and we were pushed hard by Williams, too. Both guys have a chance for the win tomorrow and I hope we will see another great battle between them on this fantastic circuit.'

Mercedes Executive Director (Technical) Paddy Lowe commented by saying:

'Wow, that was tense today! It was a very close battle between Nico, Lewis and the two Williams cars and it wasn’t until the final runs that we could see we had claimed the front row – and that Nico had taken his 10th pole position of the season. That brings him the inaugural pole position trophy, which is a significant achievement for him and the team. Lewis delivered a strong job but was pipped at the post by just 33 thousandths of a second – once again illustrating how close the battle really is between our two drivers. 

The weather was uncertain throughout the session. We have had rain predicted for the last few days but it has not materialised and that was true again today. 

However, the wind speed and direction were shifting throughout the session and those variations had a noticeable effect on the pace of the track during the hour. It was great to put on a good show for the Brazilian fans who love our sport. Congratulations to Felipe on claiming third position in front of his home crowd, too. The scene is now set for a great race tomorrow, with the continued uncertainty over the weather also thrown into the mix.'

It was a great session for the Williams Martini Racing team as home town favourite Felipe Massa put in a fantastic lap in his FW36 and will start the race as best of the rest behind the Mercedes duo in third place. The Brazilian's team mate Valtteri Bottas did a great job and will start the race from 4th place. Speaking following the session Massa stated:

It was a great qualifying for me today and the reaction and energy from the fans was very special and emotional for me. This track has a special place in my heart as I was born here in São Paulo and I always get a lot of support. The car has been feeling really good all weekend and although the Mercedes cars still had more raw pace than us, the gap seems to have closed. 

There will be a lot of variables tomorrow, especially with the weather which always changes quickly here, so we need to prepare well for that tonight. I’m going into the race in a very good position and with less pressure than the guys in front so my goal is to finish on the podium and celebrate with my home fans. '

Valtteri Bottas commented on the session saying:

'The car has been improving throughout the weekend as the track has rubbered in and we were looking very competitive today, and were quite close to the Mercedes cars. 

I had a few mistakes in Q3 so I probably left a tenth out there which can make a lot of difference because the lap is so short, but on the whole I’m starting in a good position and we need to be happy with another second row lockout. 

I’m also happy for Felipe to be starting third at his home race and he had a great reaction from the crowd. The weather is likely to be wet tomorrow so we need to make sure as a team that we get the strategy right and give ourselves the best possible chance to finish on the podium.'

The Grove based outfit head into tomorrows race with a 42 point advantage over  Ferrari in the race for third place in the Constructors championship and speaking following the session their Head of Performance Engineering Rob Smedley stated:

'A really good qualifying session for us with a great job by both drivers and car crews. It’s a little disappointing not to get the final run in for both drivers in Q3 – Felipe due to traffic and Valtteri after he went wide at Turn 4. 

We may have been able to move up a bit but we need to be satisfied as we’re in a good position for tomorrow and the car has been performing very well since it hit the track for the first time on Friday. 

The race is likely to be very unpredictable, with the weather conditions playing a factor as rain is likely. We therefore need to make sure we do everything correct. The objective has not changed; we want to finish third in the Championship and tomorrow is a chance to further solidify our position.'

Following a difficult day on Friday McLaren's Jenson Button recovered well and will start the race from 5th place after finishing Q3 just 0.907s behind pole sitter Rosberg. The 2009 world champion starts the race just ahead of reigning world champion Sebastian Vettel who take part in his penultimate race for Infiniti Red Bull Racing tomorrow. Speaking following the session the quadruple world champion said:

'I got happier with the car as qualifying progressed and we’re in a solid position to start the race tomorrow. It’s hard to beat the Mercedes and Williams from where we are, but this is Brazil and anything can happen; weather can play a big role, it was supposed to rain today and it didn’t, but that’s Interlagos for you.' 

McLaren's Kevin Magnussen will start the race from seventh place just ahead of Ferrari's Fernando Alonso.

Infiniti Red Bull Racing's Daniel Ricciardo will start the race from 9th place in the second RB10 and following the session the Australian who sits in third place in the championship stated:

'The day was going alright up until qualifying and then we lost a lot of pace. I went out quite early in Q1 and there was a bit of stuff on the track, so I thought it would get better and better but we didn’t find the pace we were after. I was surprised to get into Q3 after my lap in Q2. 

I felt better in Q3, but I was only a tenth or so faster; it’s bit frustrating. We should have finished better than ninth, we hoped to be in the top five after the pace we had in practice, but hopefully the car will be better in the race.'

Infiniti Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner stated:

'It was a totally Mercedes-dominated qualifying; I think sixth and ninth is representative of where are on this track. Daniel lost some pace from this morning and Sebastian found some pace; we’re not up as far as we’d like to be. Hopefully, with a wet race tomorrow, we can have a stronger Sunday.'

Following an impressive start to the weekend Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen will be disappointed with how qualifying went as the Finn will start the race from 10th place on the grid having been caught in traffic during his second run at the end of Q3.

It was a great session for the Sauber F1 Team's Esteban Guiterrerz as the Mexican will start Sunday's race just outside the top ten in eleventh place. Speaking following the session, he said:

'Eleventh in qualifying is a satisfying result for the team and also for me. Because of some technical issues I lost a lot of track time yesterday, but the team did a great job last night building up the car for today. I managed to put in some good laps, so we will have a great opportunity in the race tomorrow. I will fight from the beginning to the end of the race to get the points we deserve.'

The Sahara Force India F1 Team's Nico Hulkenberg will start the race from 12th place having once again just missed out on a place in Q3 for the seventh race in a row however the German was happy with how the session went and is looking forward to the race saying:

'It was a pretty straightforward day and actually the whole weekend has been smooth on my side of the garage. It’s just that we haven’t been as competitive as we would like and for various reasons the car is not in complete harmony with this track. 

It’s been quite difficult to find a rhythm and be consistent - so from that perspective P12 is probably the most that was possible today. Tomorrow I think we can challenge for points and maybe the weather will mix things up.'

Following his first appearance in Q3 this year last time out at the Circuit of the Americas the Sauber F1 Team's Adrian Sutil was unable to repeat that performance in Sao Paulo today however the German did a a good job to finish ahead of both Lotus drivers and will start the race from 13th place on the grid. Speaking following the session he said:

'Qualifying was not easy today. At least we made it into Q2, and I think 13th is a good starting position. We are looking forward to the race tomorrow, in which I can hopefully move up closer to the front. The objective is still to get the first points.'

Sauber F1 Team principal Monisha Keltenborn was happy with her outfits performance saying:

'With this qualifying result we can be satisfied. Esteban particularly put in a strong performance. We are going into the race from P11 and P13, which is a promising starting point. Because of this, we hope to be able to score points.'

The Sauber F1 Team's Head of track Engineering, Giampaolo Dall'Ara commented saying:

'First of all I want to praise Esteban who did a very good job today after an extremely difficult Friday. He was able to find a good balance for the car and then performed nicely in qualifying. He got to P11 based on his performance, which is a very good result. With Adrian in P13 we are in a position from which we can build tomorrow. 

Beating Lotus, Toro Rosso and Force India is a good achievement. Starting from these positions, we will try to fight for points, knowing that this will not be easy. A lot could obviously depend on the weather.'

The Lotus F1 Team's Romain Grosjean will start the race from 14th place following Toro Rosso's Daniil Kvyat's grid penalty and speaking after qualifying the Frenchman stated:

'We knew this afternoon’s qualifying would be very close and it looks like some teams found more pace today than we did which means we didn’t quite make it through Q1. 

The team has done a lot of work on my car overnight and it felt a lot better this morning – it’s not yet 100% where I want it to be, but it’s going in the right direction. Everyone in the team is working hard and it’s great to be part of it. For tomorrow, we’ll do our best and we should be able to improve. 

The soft tyres don’t seem to like the track too much, so managing them in the race will be an important consideration. After that we just have to push as much as possible on the mediums.'

Toro Rosso's Jean Eric Vergne benefited from his team mates misfortune as he will start the race from 15th place.

The Lotus F1 Team's Pastor Maldonado moves up to 16th place on the grid as a result Kvyat's penalty and speaking following the session the Venezuelan stated:

'It might not look like it from the lap time in qualifying, but I think we have a good car here, and certainly for the race. We were not able to put everything in the right place today and it’s a bit disappointing for qualifying, but the race is where it matters. 

It’s a very long race, and it’s usually quite a challenging one. With the way our car has been performing during the practice sessions I think we can fight for the points. If it rains, I think we can still be competitive and starting from where we are on the grid, maybe rain is good for us!'

Daniil Kvyat will start his penultimate race for Toro Rosso from 17th place just ahead of Sahara Force India's Sergio Perez who received a penalty of his own for causing a crash with Sauber's Adrian Sutil in Austin last last weekend. Speaking following the session the Mexican stated:

'It hasn’t been an easy weekend for us and we knew today would be a struggle because of the lack of running on Friday. 

So our focus has always been on the race and I think we made quite a lot of progress in final practice by concentrating on long runs rather than qualifying preparation. 

The race here at Interlagos is always quite unpredictable so I still believe we can have a good result tomorrow and leave here with some points.'

Sahara Force India F1 Team principal and managing director Dr Vijay Mallya stated:

'Today's qualifying session saw very different situations for our drivers as a result of previous events. Nico produced a very good lap and he probably extracted nearly all the potential of the car. His position, and the long run pace he showed yesterday, mean he is well placed to fight for points tomorrow. 

In Checo's case, it was a matter of prioritising his race preparation, especially in the light of his grid penalty and the problems that side-lined him yesterday. So our decision was to concentrate on maximising his chances of making up the positions on Sunday. 

He has a tough challenge ahead of him, but if he makes the most of the opportunities that arise, he could still leave with some points. Brazil always produces unpredictable races and, should that be the case, we will need to be ready.'

© Ben Johnston 2014