Rosberg takes pole for Brazil GP

German outpaces leader and teammate Hamilton by 0.033 seconds for the penultimate race of the season.

Rosberg trails Hamilton by 24 points [Getty Images]

Germany’s Nico Rosberg chalked up his 10th pole position of the season after beating teammate Lewis Hamilton in a Mercedes sweep of the front row in Brazilian Grand Prix qualifying.

The German seized the top spot with a lap just 0.033 of a second quicker than the world championship leader, who will be chasing his 10th win of the season in Sunday’s race at Interlagos.

Hamilton leads Rosberg by 24 points with two races, and 75 points, remaining.

Brazilian Felipe Massa qualified in third place with Williams team mate Valtteri Bottas fourth. McLaren’s Jenson Button will line up fifth, the first five places all filled by Mercedes-powered cars.

Starting grid (Top-10):

1. Nico Rosberg – Mercedes 
2. Lewis Hamilton – Mercedes 
3. Felipe Massa – Williams-Mercedes
4. Valtteri Bottas – Williams-Mercedes
5. Jenson Button – McLaren 
6. Sebastian Vettel – RedBull – Renault 
7. Kevin Magnussen – McLaren
8. Fernando Alonso – Ferrari 
9. Daniel Ricciardo – RedBull – Renault 
10. Kimi Raikkonen – Ferrari

Source: Reuters