Rosberg takes the pole in Russia

Nico Rosberg scored the pole for tomorrow’s race in Russia.

This is the 18th career pole for the driver of the No. 6 Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team and third of the 2015 season. He’ll be joined on the front row by teammate, points leader and defending race winner Lewis Hamilton.

This pole is critical for Rosberg to get back into title contention as he trails Hamilton by 48-points. What was a 28-point gap heading into Monza ballooned into a 53-point canyon after Nico’s retirement from the race due to engine gremlins. He was given a golden opportunity to significantly shrink that gap under the lights of Singapore after Lewis retired from the race with engine issues, but could only muster a fourth-place finish – only the second non-podium finish for the Mercedes organization this season. While he won the pole two weeks ago in the land of the rising sun, it was Hamilton who got the advantage on the initial start and won the Japanese Grand Prix.

Valtteri Bottas will start his Williams Mercedes in third. The Ferrari duo of Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Räikkönen will start fourth and fifth.

The rest of the top-10 consisted of the Sahara Force India duo of Nico Hülkenburg and Sergio Pérez, Romain Grosjean of Lotus-Mercedes, Max Verstappen of Scuderia Toro Rosso and Red Bull-Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo.

The rest of the field consists of Daniil Kvyat, Felipe Nasr, Jenson Button, Pastor Maldonado, Felipe Massa, Fernando Alonso, Marcus Ericsson, Will Stevens and Roberto Merhi.

Alonso will take a 35 grid penalty for his McLaren-Honda team going past the five-engine change maximum. The same goes for Merhi of Manor-Marussia.

Carlos Sainz Jr. didn’t take part in qualifying after a heavy crash in FP3 which forced him to be airlifted to a nearby hospital. He expects to race tomorrow, but will remain in the hospital overnight. He’ll also need approval from the race stewards because he technically didn’t take part. Typically, teams that are unable to put the car on track in qualifying will go to the stewards and show that they ran more than one lap in practice within 107% of the fastest lap set in the first round of qualifying. The fastest lap Sainz ran in FP3 was 1:42.683 and the fastest lap in Q1 was 1:38.343 by Nico Rosberg.

With practice and qualifying in the books, all that remains is to run the race.

Coverage of the Russian Grand Prix begins tomorrow at 6:30 a.m. on NBCSN and NBC Sports Live Extra.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of SpeedwayMedia.com

Tucker White
Tucker White
I've followed NASCAR for well over 20 years of my life, both as a fan and now as a member of the media. As of 2024, I'm on my ninth season as a traveling NASCAR beat writer. For all its flaws and dumb moments, NASCAR at its best produces some of the best action you'll ever see in the sport of auto racing. Case in point: Kyle Larson's threading the needle pass at Darlington Raceway on May 9, 2021. On used-up tires, racing on a worn surface and an aero package that put his car on the razor's edge of control, Larson demonstrated why he's a generational talent. Those are the stories I want to capture and break down. In addition to NASCAR, I also follow IndyCar and Formula 1. As a native of Knoxville, Tennessee, and a graduate of the University of Tennessee, I'm a diehard Tennessee Volunteers fan (especially in regards to Tennessee football). If covering NASCAR doesn't kill me, down the road, watching Tennessee football will. I'm also a diehard fan of the Atlanta Braves, and I lived long enough to see them win a World Series for the first time since 1995 (when I was just a year old). I've also sworn my fan allegiance to the Nashville Predators, though that's not paid out as much as the Braves. Furthermore, as a massive sports dork, I follow the NFL on a weekly basis. Though it's more out of an obligation than genuine passion (for sports dorks, following the NFL is basically an unwritten rule). Outside of sports, I'm a major cinema buff and a weeb. My favorite film is "Blazing Saddles" and my favorite anime is "Black Lagoon."

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