Qualifying Report - Rosberg's six-pack

Nico Rosberg ends the season with a six-pack of poles after qualifying fastest for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix with his sixth consecutive pole. His Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton posted the second best time, while Kimi Raikkonen slotted his Ferrari into third.

The ambient temperature at the start of the session was 79 degrees Fahrenheit (26 degrees Centigrade) and the track temperature was 86 degrees Fahrenheit (30 degrees Centigrade). The humidity was 68 percent, and there was zero percent chance of rain.

The line-up for the weekend was: Mercedes ‘‚    ‚  ‚ Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg. Red Bull Renault ‘‚    ‚  ‚ Daniel Ricciardo and Daniil Kvyat. Williams Mercedes ‘‚    ‚  ‚ Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas. Ferrari ‘‚    ‚  ‚ Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen. McLaren Honda ‘‚    ‚  ‚ Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button. Force India Mercedes ‘‚    ‚  ‚ Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez. Toro Rosso Renault ‘‚    ‚  ‚ Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz. Lotus Mercedes ‘‚    ‚  ‚ Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado. Marussia Ferrari ‘‚    ‚  ‚ Will Stevens and Roberto Merhi. Sauber ‘‚    ‚  ‚ Marcus Ericsson and Felipe Nasr.

QUALIFYING 1

It didn't take long for the Mercedes drivers to establish themselves at the top, with Hamilton ahead of Rosberg. Both used the super soft Pirellis. The rest of the order in the early going was Raikkonen, Maldonado, Grosjean and Perez. And they had used the soft compound tires.

Then Hulkenberg, on the super softs, jumped up to third, and Ricciardo, also on the super softs, took fourth. But it would be Perez who ended up fourth ahead of Hulkenberg, Ricciardo, Massa, Raikkonen, Kvyat, Button and Grosjean.

But Vettel was out! He was only 16th fastest, so he along with Alonso, Ericsson, Stevens and Merhi did not advance to Q2.

QUALIFYING 2

Massa clocked the first lap time with a 1:42.382, but Hamilton beat that with a 1:40.758. Rosberg was second ahead of Ricciardo, Hulkenberg, Perez and Kvyat. But Kvyat had a car problem and the team told him to bring it back to the pits slowly.

With 4 minutes remaining in the session, Raikkonen took third place away from Ricciardo.

With 2 minutes remaining in the session, Bottas went into fifth. And Grosjean's car stopped near Turn 8.

The top 10 at the end of Q2 were: Hamilton, Rosberg, Perez, Raikkonen, Ricciardo, Bottas, Hulkenberg, Kvyat, Massa and Sainz.

The five drivers eliminated at the end of Q2 were: Verstappen, Button, Maldonado, Nasr and Grosjean.

QUALIFYING 3

The 12-minute Q3 session began with Perez being the first on the track.

After the drivers had done their first fast laps, the order was: Rosberg, Hamilton, Perez, Raikkonen, Ricciardo, Bottas, Massa, Hulkenberg, Kvyat and Sainz.

Hamilton went out again and took the pole with a 1:40.614, but Rosberg slammed in a 1:40.237 to win his sixth pole of the season.

The top 10 qualifiers at the end of Q3 were: Rosberg, Hamilton, Raikkonen, Perez, Ricciardo, Bottas, Hulkenberg, Massa, Kvyat and Sainz.