Pole position went to Lewis Hamilton yet again, as the defending champion beat his teammate to the top spot by two hundredths of a second. In attempting to beat their times, both Hamilton and Rosberg ran off track on their final laps, meaning the positions remained unchanged in the end. The track was damp to start with but quickly started drying – Merhi beat Manor teammate Stevens, and Alonso beat Button, but both McLaren drivers have significant penalties to take for the race.

Kimi Räikkönen was a surprise drop out in Q2, eventually finishing 14th, which in turn allowed Felipe Nasr and both Lotus drivers through to the top ten. Romain Grosjean was barely a feature of Q3 though, as a brake issue kept him in the garage.