Australian Mark Webber led a Red Bull front row sweep on Saturday and denied team mate and Formula One championship leader Sebastian Vettel a fifth successive Japanese Grand Prix pole position.
Webber, in his last season in the sport, lapped the figure-of-eight Suzuka circuit with a best time of one minute 30.915 seconds.
Vettel, who can clinch his fourth world title in a row on Sunday if he wins and Ferrari's Fernando Alonso fails to finish in the top eight, lapped in 1:31.089.
Lewis Hamilton, for Mercedes, and Romain Grosjean in a Lotus, share the second row with Alonso qualifying only eighth while Brazilian team mate Felipe Massa starts fifth. – Reuters