As it happened: Germany 2014 - Qualifying

• 12:30

  Hello there, have you come in search of comprehensive coverage of qualifying for the German Grand Prix? Well look no further!

• 12:31

  Naturally, much of the focus is on Nico Rosberg, as the German driver heads into his home race as one of the favourites. And even without the controversial FRIC suspension system, the Mercedes car has continued to be absolutely dominant.

• 12:32

  Rosberg isn't the only German driver out there, however. Nico Hülkenberg, Sebastian Vettel and Adrian Sutil will also all want to do well in front of the home crowds, although with differing likelihoods of success.

• 12:33

  Tweet from @Marussia_F1Team: Things are really hotting up for Qualifying. The weather here in #Hockenheim is ridiculous.

• 12:33

  There's talk of rain for the race tomorrow, but today the sun is beaming down above the track and temperatures are soaring.

• 12:34

  Fastest Session Times

  Free Practice 1	N Rosberg	1:19.131
  Free Practice 2	L Hamilton	1:18.341
  Free Practice 3	N Rosberg	1:17.779

• 12:39

  The Williams team have been looking strong of late, and the battle between the two drivers is very close. In qualifying, Massa has the edge, although in the race it goes Bottas's way 6-3.

  Qualifying Battle

  Williams	Qualified Ahead
  F Massa	5
  V Bottas	4

• 12:40

  The only drivers to have secured pole position this year are Lewis Hamilton, Nico Rosberg and Felipe Massa. Will anyone else be able to get their name on this very small list?

• 12:44

  

  Pirelli have brought the soft and supersoft tyres this weekend, the yellow and red sidewalls respectively. In the soaring temperatures, the drivers could struggle to get long life out of this selection.

• 12:45

  Christian Horner, on FRIC suspension, and Red Bull's current position: "I think the systems have become more and more complex which is what the FIA have become unhappy about. They’re referring to a rule about aerodynamic assistance… it’s a very broad brush rule and could include tyre pressures. It’s happened, that’s the way it is, it’s off the car.

  "We were definitely closer yesterday, in the heat of the afternoon. We tried a couple of things overnight that didn’t quite work this morning. The temperature is sky rocketing, we’ll see how that affects the tyre performance on the two compounds. If we could get a car on the second row, we’d take that. It’s pretty tight in that group behind Mercedes."

• 12:50

  The hairpin is one of the key areas of the track, a slow corner that needs a good getaway to maximise the following straight.

  Braking Analysis

  Turn 6
  (forecast data from Brembo)
  Initial speed	318km/h
  Final speed	55km/h
  Stopping distance	125m
  Braking time	2.65s
  Maximum deceleration	5.42g
  Maximum pedal load	130kg
  Braking power	2125kw

• 12:55

  

  32°C
  Track	55°C
  Humidity	30%
  Wind speed	2.7mps

• 12:56

  If only we had a graphic that was double or triple sun. 55 degrees is crazy!

• 12:57

  The Caterham team are desperately working on Marcus Ericsson's car, trying to fix a hydraulic problem in time for qualifying. However, as per @CaterhamF1: "There's a cut-off point just after halfway through Q1, after which we have to concede and turn our attention for car #10 to tomorrow..."

• 13:00

  

  Kimi Räikkönen had fuel pump issues that kept him in the garage during practice this morning, but the team have replaced the errant component and have patched him up ready to qualify.

• 13:00

  Qualifying session 1 begins.

• 13:00

  Jules Bianchi heads out on track first, joined quickly by Jenson Button. Both drivers are on the harder of the two compounds.

• 13:02

  Bianchi returned straight to the pit lane as more drivers file out of their respective garages with the soft tyres on.

• 13:04

  Button sets the first lap time of the session, with a 1:20.264.

• 13:04

  Marcus Ericsson watches on from the Caterham garage, sunglasses on, arms folded, overalls around his waist. It doesn't look likely he'll be participating today.

• 13:04

  The times immediately start dropping, as both Massa and Hülkenberg cross the line for a 1:19 lap each.

• 13:05

  Onboard footage with Vergne shows the Toro Rosso driver locking up at one corner, and then running wide at the next. The car looks something of a handful here at Hockenheim.

• 13:06

  McLaren have shown increased pace so far this weekend, and Kevin Magnussen jumps up to P1 with a 1:19.379.

• 13:07

  Of course, it doesn't last long once the Mercedes get involved. Lewis Hamilton completes his first lap for a 1:18.683. Felipe Massa improves his own time to within two tenths of the leading Mercedes.

• 13:08

  Nico Rosberg made a mistake on his first lap, apologising over the radio for his error. He's six seconds off the pace, with a meaningful time still to complete.

• 13:08

  Valtteri Bottas drops the benchmark once more, with the P1 time now 1:18.215.

• 13:08

  On board with Vettel shows a tidy lap but only good enough for fifth place at the moment.

• 13:09

  Some of the slower cars are heading straight onto the supersoft tyres. Romain Grosjean has the red stripes on, as does teammate Pastor Maldonado. That Lotus looks really hard to control in these soaring temperatures.

• 13:10

  The Sauber drivers have also opted straight for the supersoft tyres, as have Bianchi, Kobayashi and Chilton. Marcus Ericsson is confirmed as not going out today.

• 13:11

  Massive crash from Lewis Hamilton, as he spins round and round off track and into the barriers.

• 13:11

  Session stopped.

• 13:11

  7:21 on the clock as the session stops. Hamilton has set a time fast enough to get through, no doubt, but the car has some hefty damage.

• 13:12

  Team radio from Lewis Hamilton, sounding very winded on the radio, reports his condition. "I'm okay... something... I hit the brakes... the brakes failed."

• 13:13

  It's a huge crash, a high speed impact, and he definitely climbs from the car gingerly. But a wave to the crowd shows he's alright, if shaken.

• 13:14

  The medical car has picked up Hamilton and is likely taking him straight to the medical centre for checks.

• 13:14

  Rosberg is sitting in the car, and planning his strategy for the remaining seven minutes. The German doesn't have a representative time, yet, currently 21st.

• 13:15

  After watching an hour's delay from Kimi's crash at Silverstone as they reconstructed the barriers, the marshals are already nearly done with the tyre buffer that Lewis connected with. Advertising hoardings back in place.

• 13:17

  Extensive replays of the accident show a puff of smoke from the right hand side of the car. A brake failure of some sort, although Hamilton was able to lock up the tyres as he pitched into the spin.

• 13:18

  Session will re-start at 14:19.

• 13:19

  Super soft tyres on Rosberg's car, as he heads out of the garage and is first out of the pit lane as the light goes green.

• 13:19

  Session restarted.

• 13:21

  Kevin Magnussen and both Force India drivers have also headed out early upon the restart, all with the softer compound on. Jenson Button joins in as well.

• 13:22

  Tweet from @CaterhamF1: The problem on @Ericsson_Marcus' car is a hydraulic leak from the throttle - still pushing like mad to get him out in Q1.....

• 13:22

  Nico Rosberg crosses the line with a 1:17.631, that's half a second ahead of second place Bottas, although on different tyre compounds.

• 13:23

  Tweet from @MercedesAMGF1: Lewis will have a full medical check up as a precaution and we'll keep you posted with any updates!

• 13:24

  The drop zone currently features Pastor Maldonado, Adrian Sutil, Esteban Gutiérrez, Kamui Kobayashi and Max Chilton, with Marcus Ericsson yet to appear.

• 13:25

  Hamilton is gradually dropping down the order as others improve. The two McLarens jump up to 3rd and 4th, with Daniil Kvyat impressively in 5th and Kimi Räikkönen crossing the line for sixth.

• 13:25

  All cars are out on track bar Hamilton and Ericsson. And the top two, Rosberg and Bottas head back in, happy with their times.

• 13:26

  Esteban Gutiérrez pops up to P10, whilst teammate Adrian Sutil can only manage 15th. That's both out of the bottom six, though.

• 13:26

  The two Lotus drivers have dropped into the danger zone.

• 13:27

  Daniel Ricciardo and Sebastian Vettel are up into 2nd and 3rd, as the focus remains on the Lotus pair.

• 13:27

  Qualifying session 1 ends.

• 13:27

  Romain Grosjean manages to squeeze in a good lap and jumps up to 13th.

• 13:27

  Felipe Massa was late out of the garage and was down in 16th place, but crosses the line to improve up to 6th fastest.

• 13:28

  Out in Q1

  17	A Sutil	Sauber
  18	J Bianchi	Marussia
  19	P Maldonado	Lotus
  20	K Kobayashi	Caterham
  21	M Chilton	Marussia
  DNQ	M Ericsson	Caterham

• 13:28

  Fastest three in that session, Nico Rosberg, Daniel Ricciardo and Sebastian Vettel.

• 13:30

  Tweet from @MercedesAMGF1: UPDATE: @LewisHamilton is back from the medical centre. He's ok but sore from the crash. We are working to diagnose the cause

• 13:32

  A look at the bottom five - Sutil was a couple of tenths off getting through, but those behind weren't really close.

  Gap Analysis

  Pos	Driver	Gap
  17th	SUT	1:19.142
  18th	BIA	+0.534
  19th	MAL	+1.053
  20th	KOB	+1.266
  21st	CHI	+1.347

• 13:34

  Replays of radio traffic to Adrian Sutil goes something like: "Okay, Grosjean beat us..." Followed by the biggest sigh you'll have heard over team radio.

• 13:34

  Qualifying session 2 begins.

• 13:36

  Very quiet start to the session, with drivers happy to wait in the cool of the garage before hitting the heat of the track.

• 13:36

  Nico Hülkenberg is the first to break cover, heading out on the supersoft tyres.

• 13:37

  Sergio Pérez joins, to make it two Force Indias out there. Others start to follow, including both the Williams drivers and Kimi Räikkönen.

• 13:38

  Mercedes have confirmed the issue on Lewis Hamilton's car was a front right brake disc failure.

• 13:39

  All participating drivers are out on track bar Daniil Kvyat and Romain Grosjean.

• 13:40

  Nico Hülkenberg sets the first lap time of the session with a 1:18.270, but he's swiftly beaten by the two Williams drivers. Valtteri Bottas heads to P1 with a 1:17.353.

• 13:41

  

  Esteban Gutiérrez heads out for his attempt at a Q2 lap, something he doesn't get to do very often!

• 13:41

  Nico Rosberg quickly jumps up to P1 with a 1:17.109 - will we see a 1:16 soon?

• 13:42

  The first wave of cars head back to the garage for the midway quick stop, leaving the late entrants to complete their first laps. Daniel Ricciardo slips into fifth place, whilst Sebastian Vettel jumps up to P3.

• 13:43

  Button gets on the radio to complain about traffic which might explain his ninth place time compared to teammate Magnussen's P4.

• 13:44

  Under five minutes left on the clock, and almost everyone has returned to the pit lane to make their last minute preparations.

• 13:45

  Daniil Kvyat disappears off track momentarily but continues on unharmed. He and Nico Hüleknberg are the only two out on track at the moment.

• 13:45

  Sergio Pérez hasn't appeared on track yet, he'll likely be waiting to do a one lap wonder.

• 13:47

  Final stints begin with Kimi Räikkönen heading out, along with Daniel Ricciardo and a few more.

• 13:47

  The drivers that need to be concerned at the moment include Pérez yet to set a lap, and Gutiérrez, Grosjean, Vergne and Räikkönen himself.

• 13:48

  Sergio Pérez has finally exited the garage to make his one attempt at squeezing into the top ten this weekend.

• 13:48

  Team radio to Fernando Alonso: "There's track improvement so yea, we need to do the lap."

• 13:49

  The only drivers remaining in the garage are Rosberg in P1, and Vettel and Magnussen currently 4th and 5th.

• 13:49

  Qualifying session 2 ends.

• 13:50

  Kimi completes a lap but doesn't improve, he just crosses the line in time to complete another circuit however.

• 13:50

  Jenson Button doesn't improve on his own laptime, and he's currently sitting tenth, very much in the danger zone.

• 13:51

  Sergio Pérez's first time put him into tenth place, which knocked Button down into the drop zone.

• 13:52

  Out in Q2

  11	J Button	McLaren
  12	K Räikkönen	Ferrari
  13	JE Vergne	Toro Rosso
  14	E Gutiérrez	Sauber
  15	R Grosjean	Lotus
  16	L Hamilton	Mercedes

• 13:52

  Fastest three in that session were Nico Rosberg, Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa.

• 13:53

  The Williams pair are clinging on to Rosberg's coat-tails, with just two tenths separating the top three. Vettel is about half a second off the Mercedes pace.

• 13:54

  Qualifying Battle

  Sauber	Qualified Ahead
  E Gutiérrez	6
  A Sutil	4

• 13:58

  A disappointed Jenson Button: "Traffic doesn’t matter, we didn’t get through and that’s the main thing. The last run, I still had another go but I had a completely different balance on the last run for some reason. I’ve struggled all weekend, it’s not been an easy weekend."

• 13:58

  Qualifying session 3 begins.

• 13:58

  The Force India pair head out early in this session to get their Q3 campaign under way.

• 14:00

  Eight drivers have hit the track, with just Sebastian Vettel and Daniil Kvyat leaving things a bit later.

• 14:00

  Now it's just Vettel that remains in the garage, as the nine others hustle for their first lap times of the session.

• 14:01

  It is supersoft tyres all round, but a good mixture of used and new throughout the field.

• 14:02

  The Force Indias set their first times, and are very close. Hülkenberg posts a 1:19.38 with Pérez just behind on a 1:19.39.

• 14:02

  Nico Rosberg drops that benchmark, hitting the 1:16s.

• 14:02

  Bottas' first attempt is half a second off Rosberg, with Massa following along to take third place for now.

• 14:03

  Vettel headed out just now, as his teammate Ricciardo crosses the line for P4.

• 14:03

  Hülkenberg, Pérez and Rosberg return to the pit lane.

• 14:03

  Kevin Magnussen drops Ricciardo to fifth, by posting a 1:17.604.

• 14:05

  A moment of peace as most of the cars return to the garage. But Sergio Pérez keeps on going, he's in tenth place at the moment.

• 14:07

  All ten cars are out on track now, this is it, the last ditch effort for a good grid slot.

• 14:08

  Sergio Pérez improves to sixth place.

• 14:08

  Massa crosses the line to start his lap, with just over a minute on the clock.

• 14:09

  Qualifying session 3 ends.

• 14:09

  Daniel Ricciardo splits the Williams pair only for Felipe Massa to improve and retake that third place back again.

• 14:10

  Bottas put in a fantastic second sector but doesn't keep up the pace for the full lap and remains second.

• 14:10

  Rosberg doesn't improve on his own time but retains pole position.

• 14:10

  Pole position for Nico Rosberg with a time of 1:16.540.

• 14:12

  Q3 results

  1	N Rosberg	Mercedes
  2	V Bottas	Williams
  3	F Massa	Williams
  4	K Magnussen	McLaren
  5	D Ricciardo	Red Bull
  6	S Vettel	Red Bull
  7	F Alonso	Ferrari
  8	D Kvyat	Toro Rosso
  9	N Hülkenberg	Force India
  10	S Pérez	Force India

• 14:12

  Rosberg climbs from the car, with the two Williams drivers congratulating each other on a job well done.

• 14:13

  Gap Analysis

  Pos	Driver	Gap
  1st	ROS	1:16.540
  2nd	BOT	+0.219
  3rd	MAS	+0.538
  4th	MAG	+0.674
  5th	RIC	+0.733

• 14:14

  A great job by Kevin Magnussen there, with Daniil Kvyat also putting in another good qualifying performance.

• 14:15

  Esteban Gutiérrez put in a strong qualifying performance but will be hampered on the grid tomorrow by a penalty leftover from Silverstone.

• 14:22

  Qualifying Battle

  Red Bull	Qualified Ahead
  D Ricciardo	7
  S Vettel	3

• 14:26

  Post-qualifying press conference - Nico Rosberg: "It’s been going really, really well. It’s great, home race to be on pole is fantastic. Of course, would have preferred if it was an open fight with Lewis, a little bit less happy as a result because Lewis didn’t have a shot at it in the end. But a fantastic day up to now, but no points for today."

• 14:26

  Post-qualifying press conference - Valtteri Bottas: "I must say, we must be really happy with the result we got as a team. Second and third, so well done to everyone. I think Mercedes is still ahead. The lap I had in the end was no mistakes, really nice lap, so felt like I got everything out of the car today."

• 14:26

  Post-qualifying press conference - Felipe Massa: "I was struggling to put the lap together, I had some moving from the tyres. We’re not able to have the perfect car, just to put all the sectors together. Maybe able to do one sector better one way, the other sector better the other way. Valtteri did a very good lap, but anyway quite happy with the result, still quite happy with our car. For sure in the race the conditions will be different, the feeling of the car will be different, let’s try to do a very good job tomorrow."

• 14:30

  

  The press conference three.

• 14:30

  Tweet from @MauriceHamilton: Brembo material on HAM's car; ROS runs Carbon Industrie, so no worries for him. HAM's discs were changed before Q as matter of routine.

• 14:36

  It may not have been the super exciting end to qualifying we might have hoped for, but we've still got an intriguing race on our hands. Hamilton will no doubt power through the field to take the fight to his teammate, whilst Williams will be intent on keeping up with Rosberg as best as possible.

• 14:39

  The weather may also spice things up with plenty of talk of rain. At any rate, it should be cooler than it was today!

• 14:39

  So, that wraps things up, I will see you back here tomorrow for coverage of all the action, lap by lap, from the German Grand Prix. Be good, fact fans!