So that's that, Nico Rosberg is on pole after Kvyat's huge shunt ends session early. We'll back around the same time tomorrow, I've been Aaron Irwin and thanks for joining us. Stick with VAVEL UK for all the reaction and updates as they come.
Rosberg: "Great day today, good comeback for the team. "Very thankful, turned things around and really pleased for the way it went and we're in a good position for tomorrow."
So it's as you were for Japan after thr Mercedes blip last time out.
So your top ten for the Japanese GP grid is: Rosberg, Hamilton, Bottas, Vettel, Massa, Raikkonen, Ricciardo, Grosjean, Perez and Kvyat.
Kvyat just lost control of the car and hit the wall, his car flipped in the air before landing on his wheels again, but Kvyat is okay and out the car.
Nico Rosberg is on pole position! Hamilton second with Bottas getting third.
Q3: Big shunt on the way into the hairpin as session is red flagged. May have lost it under braking.
Q3: One minute, Rosberg still fastest so far, subject to Hamilton's lap as Kvyat has crashed!
Q3: Things are about to get interesting...
Q3: Drivers in pits now coming back out for their final runs as only three minutes remain.
Q3: Ferrari and Williams are set to battle for the second and third rows of the grid here. Hamilton locked up into the hairpin on his lap, so could indeed go faster, he's in the pits currently.
Q3: Rosberg has posted the first lap and is faster than Hamilton by 0.076 seconds.
Q3 is go! Cars emerging on track as Mercedes are almost certain for pole, Lewis or Nico?
We're not far away from Q3, Who will get pole position here?
Button: "They didn't tell me what setting to be in. "We can't make little mistakes like this. "I was able to find quite bit of time in the last sector."
Hulkernberg, Sainz, Maldonado, Alonso and Verstappen out in Q2. Hulkenberg will start P14 following his penalty.
Q2: Rosberg still fastest with Hamilton second and Raikkonen third as the chequered flag is out!
Q2: It's important to remember that Hulkenberg has a three place penalty due to his collision with Massa in Singapore, he shouldn't be too far down the grid, he's eighth fastest currently.
Q2: As it stands Perez, Grosjean, Maldonado, Alonso and Verstappen occupy the second drop zone.
Q2: Mercedes are well ahead of the rest of the pack, following their blip in Singapore it appears normal service has resumed.
Q2: Rosberg sets the benchmark for thr second session with a 1:32:6, Hamilton tucks in behind his team mate with Kvyat third.
Q2: Verstappen will start 15th regardless as he cannot get his stricken car back to the garage.
We're back underway for Q2! Verstappen's car appears to have cut out on him exiting the hairpin, although no TV replays have been shown just yet.
Q1: Button, Ericsson, Nasr, Stevens and Rossi out here. Unfortunate for McLaren and Sauber, who were hoping for good sessions.
Q1: Chequered flag, as drivers are suffering because of Verstappen;s error, as the yellow flag meant no one could improve their time.
Q1: Yellow flags coming out of the tight second sector hairpin. It's Max Verstappen, who has somehow parked his Toro Rosso at an awkward angle on the track.
Q1: Grosjean goes fifth fastest, impressive for Lotus, ahead of both the Red Bull's.
Q1: Hulkenberg goes ninth as Perez, Sainz, Stevens, Rossi and Ericsson, who is likely to be checking his car for any damage following his spin, occupy the drop zone.
Q1: Just over five minutes left for the first Qualifying session, Vettel asks if he needs to run again, the team agree, as his time is said to be close to the Q1 cut-off point.
Q1: The top five is currently Hamilton, Rosberg, Raikkonen, Bottas and Vettel. Likely we'll see that sort of order at the end of Q3.
Q1: Jenson Button posts a 1:35:8, not a strong lap from the Brit, can he recover and make it to Q2?
Q1: Marcus Ericsson has span off and gone in to the gravel at Spoon corner. He got his tyres on the white line and it caused him to spin, no damage but tyres will be badly blistered.
Q1: Plenty of drivers setting times already, some of those will likely only do the one lap to preserve tyres. Hamilton saying he's flat spotted his right front on the radio.
Q1: Hamilton sets a fastest time of 1:33:555, impressive from the Mercedes man.
Q1: Rosberg is reporting a 'problem' with the engine when he left the garage, doesn't seem to be affecting him too much. Cars such as Verstappen out on track.
Q1: We're underway in the first qualifying session in Japan! What's everyone's predictions for the session ahead?
Here we go everyone Qualifying is amongst us! Suzuka is an interesting circuit, it's the only 'figure of eight' style track on the F1 calendar.
The man to watch this weekend will definitely be Sebastian Vettel, following his win last time out in Singapore. The Ferrari man will have the wind behind him and the momentum to give Ferrari a win on an occasion which is dedicated to one of their extended family members.
Max Verstappen was in the headlines last week too. He was asked to move over to let Carlos Sainz through due to him being the faster car. However the young Dutchman refused to let him through and despite defying team orders, team boss Franz Tost praised his young charger.
Nico Rosberg managed to cut into Hamilton’s championship lead in Singapore thanks to his fourth place finish. His lead was cut down from 53 to 41, the gap however still looks relatively insurmountable.
There are rumours Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz will pull the plug on their involvement in F1 should they have an uncompetitive car next season. Ferrari are their next engine suppliers reportedly, while Audi and VW have reportedly made enquiries into taking over the team.
Renault however, are set to finally split from long term team Red Bull. Their ‘divorce’ has been well documented this season due to Renault not supplying the team with a competitive engine.
Speaking of Lotus, they’ve been locked out of their motorhome this weekend following an issue. They were fed by Bernie Ecclestone in the Paddock Club thankfully, the deal with Renault to take them over is imminent.
Also the driver rumour mill is in full swing, with Haas holding a press conference Tuesday to announce either one or two of their drivers. Lotus’ Romain Grosjean is widely expected to be announced as one of them, with Esteban Gutierrez being the other following Haas’ partnership with Ferrari.
All the talk in the papers coming to Japan is whether Jenson Button will retire from Formula One this season or stay at McLaren. The Brit has been the subject of speculation all week, with some rumours saying he’s off to compete in the World Endurance Championship next season.
On to the action, and Mercedes will be keen to have a better showing here than last week in Singapore. A ‘freak’ fault ended Lewis Hamilton’s race and contributed to the Silver Arrows being uncharacteristically slow at Marina Bay, with Ferrari and Red Bull storming ahead.
Today and tomorrow will be in Jules’ honour, and we hope there’ll be racing which would make the young Frenchman proud.
However the most significant moment has to be what occurred here last year. Jules Bianchi, rising star of the sport, and future Ferrari driver, suffered a horrible crash which, in the end, claimed his life. It’s the first time we’ve been back here since that tragic day.
We’re at Suzuka, which has seen many controversial and significant moments from Formula One’s history. Such as 1989 and 1990 seeing the comings together of Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna, as well as Kimi Raikkonen’s last lap heroics in 2005.
Good morning, and thank you for joining us at this early hour as we prepare for Qualifying for the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka! I’m Aaron Irwin and I’ll be here providing all the action as it happens LIVE on VAVEL UK.