2016 F1 Round 8 European Grand Prix qualifying – Rosberg on pole, Hamilton crashes to tenth

Rosberg provisionally led Q1 after setting a 1:44.136 and then a 1:43.685. Hamilton returned to the pits after running into the escape area at Turn 15. Pérez, Ricciardo and Kvyat followed in the timing order.

Archive image of the Ferrari SF16-H. The Formula1-Data image page leaves the specific event and shooting location unspecified.

In Q2, Rosberg lowered the fastest time of the session to a 1:42.520. Hamilton briefly slipped close to the cut-off before a final 1:43.526 lifted him to second. Grosjean was eleventh and Hülkenberg twelfth, with both missing out on Q3.

In Q3, Hamilton was at one stage four tenths ahead of Rosberg, but locked up and ran off at Turn 15. Rosberg also had to abandon his lap as a result. Pérez then went provisionally fastest with a 1:43.515.

Rosberg set a 1:42.758 on his final flying lap to take pole for the first European Grand Prix in Baku. Pérez was second, 0.757 seconds behind, while Ricciardo and Vettel both recorded a 1:43.966.

Vettel set his identical time slightly later than Ricciardo and was therefore classified fourth. Räikkönen was fifth, Massa sixth and Kvyat seventh, with Bottas eighth and Verstappen ninth.

With 2 minutes 5 seconds remaining, Hamilton hit the inside barrier at Turn 11 and damaged his right-front wheel, bringing out a red flag. He finished tenth with a 2:01.954 and was unable to make a final attempt.

Pérez received a five-place grid penalty for changing his gearbox after his FP3 crash. The official provisional starting grid therefore had Rosberg and Ricciardo on the front row, with Pérez starting seventh and Hamilton tenth.

Rosberg secured pole with the fastest Q3 lap. Pérez kept the second-fastest qualifying time but lost his front-row starting place through the penalty. Hamilton’s Turn 11 crash left the other Mercedes starting tenth.