The German beats his Mercedes team mate Lewis Hamilton who currently tops him in the Championship to claim Japanese Grand Prix pole position.

Hamilton, who leads Rosberg by three points in the championship, was beaten to pole by Rosberg by 0.197 seconds.

Williams’s Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa were next, ahead of Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso.

Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo was sixth, ahead of McLaren drivers Kevin Magnussen and Jenson Button, Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel and Ferrari’s Kimi
Raikkonen.

The session took place against the backdrop of huge changes in the F1 driver line-up for 2015.

Although Rosberg’s pole will give him a confidence boost after seeing Hamilton turn a 29-point deficit into a small advantage over just two races, it may
ultimately mean little.

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