Qualifying report of the 2018 Japan Grand Prix

In qualifying at Suzuka, Mercedes put the brilliant strategy in the service of Lewis Hamilton to earn his 80th pole position in F1 ahead of teammate Valtteri Bottas. Sebastian Vettel lost ninth place in difficult conditions.

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In Japan, Mercedes perfectly read the bad weather, ensuring his two riders got their best lap at the start of Q3 before rain fell for their fifth consecutive double in qualifying at Suzuka.

Max Verstappen finished third for Red Bull on a day when his team-mate Daniel Ricciardo retired in the second quarter due to suspicious powertrain issues. The Dutchman moved ahead of Kimi Raikkonen's first Ferrari, while Romain Grosjean's Haas took fifth place.

Toro Rosso's qualifying was excellent with Brendon Hartley claiming his best starting position in sixth place, ahead of teammate Pierre Gasly on the track built by the Honda engine supplier in 1962.

Esteban Ocon took eighth place ahead of Vettel. Force India teammate Sergio Perez finished P10.

It's a day that will be remembered for a Mercedes "master stroke" …

Q1 – RED FLAGS AND SPIN FALL HULKENBERG

Marcus Ericsson's qualifying session lasted only eight minutes, after the Swede lost his Sauber in the Dunlop Curve, finding himself in the barriers and with his resolutely used car. The incident highlighted a red flag in the middle of the segment and when the drivers returned to the track, it was Lewis Hamilton who came out of the block as quickly as possible to continue his weekend leader.

He was ahead of Sebastian Vettel, who was 0.347s behind his rival despite a harmless injury to the pin. The shock output in Q1 was Nico Hulkenberg. The Renault driver finished in P16 to crown a difficult day for the German after crashing against the wall during Free Practice 3 and needed urgent work to repair his car on time. He was joined in the elimination zone by Williams' Sergey Sirotkin, the McLaren pair consisting of Fernando Alonso and Stoffel Vandoorne – the Spaniard outclassing his teammate for the 22nd consecutive race – and Ericsson.

It was a positive segment for Lance Stroll, meanwhile, with the Williams driver who clinched in Q2 in fifteenth place.