Suzuka, Japan - German Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel on Saturday took pole position for Sunday's Japanese Grand Prix in Suzuka after a crash-marred qualifying session. The qualifying was stopped three times after accidents and five drivers failed to record times in their sessions.
Vettel posted a time of 1 minute 32.160 seconds for the 5.807- kilometre long lap, to edge out Toyota's Jarno Trulli.
McLaren-Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton took third place on the grid with the third-fastest time and will start alongside Adrian Sutil in a Force India.
The championship-leading Brawn GP drivers of Rubens Barrichello and Jenson Button posted the fifth and seventh-fastest times respectively.
Button could win the championship on Sunday if he manages to finish five points ahead of the Brazilian.
The other drivers in the top ten are Nick Heidfeld in a BMW-Sauber who starts from sixth, Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen in eighth place and Heikki Kovalainen and Sebastien Buemi who failed to record a time in the final session.
McLaren's Kovalainen went off in the Degner Curve in the final qualifying session, temporarily halting the session with a red flag.
As he had not yet posted a time he will start from ninth on the grid as the tenth place on the grid belongs to Sebastian Buemi in a Toro Rosso, who crashed at the end of the second session and could not start in the final round.
The second round of qualifying was twice red-flagged after accidents.
The first time Spanish driver Jaime Alguersuari went off the track in the Degner Curve. Minutes later Toyota's Timo Glock smashed into the tyres on the final corner.
Unlike Alguersuari, who escaped the crash unscathed, Glock had to be taken to the medical centre in an ambulance with a leg wound after being treated at the crash sight for 11 minutes.
Red Bull's Mark Webber, who crashed in the free practise session in the morning, failed to participate in the qualifying as his car needed a new chassis and as a result the Australian will start from the back of the grid.
Button leads the standings' with 84 points from Barrichello, who is on 69 points. Vettel is third on 59 points.
