The raw speed of the Mercedes AMG W07 decided who would start on the front row, but it was a well-timed yellow on what would be the best chance in Q3 to set a fast lap left Nico Rosberg in front of Lewis Hamilton.
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As the drivers were on their final run, Fernando Alonso spun as he exited Turn 9, and with the Spaniard’s McLaren slewed sideways on the kerbing the yellow flags were waved.
Australian Daniel Ricciardo was third in the second Red Bull, clear proof that the team are a threat to the Mercedes domination.
Almost four hours after qualifying finished, Rosberg was called to the stewards over an alleged failure to slow for yellow flags in the second sector of the lap that secured him pole position.
“It needs to be clarified for all us drivers to fully understand it”, said Hamilton.
Hamilton said: “Double yellow is: “Be prepared for a vehicle or steward on the track” – you don’t know what’s around the corner. I don’t know if they had it cleared by the time he got there”, he told Sky Sports.
“The clarification that is needed is”.
Rosberg claimed after the session that he had lifted off the throttle, despite setting the quickest sector time. Because I thought that was the case on a single yellow, but maybe on a double, I thought you had to pay more caution to it.
Having seen his championship lead dwindle to just a solitary point after receiving a five-place penalty two weeks ago at the British Grand Prix and Hamilton winning four of the last five races, the German now has the advantage on a track that offers few opportunities to overtake.
“The start is definitely the most advantageous opportunity but there will be others, depending on the weather and tyre usage”, he said. If it is only a tenth you have to lose that is now different for us drivers and we can approach it differently.
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Tragic Bianchi, tipped as a future champion, died in 2014 when he failed to slow sufficiently in treacherously wet conditions for waved double yellows and hit a safety tractor removing another vehicle. “Looking forward to the race and a great opportunity tomorrow”.
