Nico Rosberg ended his Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton’s run of domination in qualifying this season when he secured his first pole position of the year in Saturday’s qualifying session for Sunday’s Spanish Grand Prix.
The 29-year-old German produced a fastest lap in one minute and 24.681 seconds to outpace the defending world champion by three-tenths of a second on a hot afternoon at the Circuit de Catalunya where Hamilton won from pole last year.
His lap was quicker than Hamilton’s 2014 pole time and ended the 30-year-old Briton’s run of four straight poles this year.
Rosberg now needs to convert that advantage into a first win since last year’s Brazilian Grand Prix to reduce Hamilton’s 27-point lead in the title race.
Four-time champion Sebastian Vettel was third-fastest for Ferrari ahead of Finn Valtteri Bottas of Williams, new home hero Carlos Sainz and his Toro Rosso team-mate, Dutch teenager Max Verstappen.
Another Finn, Kimi Raikkonen was down in seventh for Ferrari ahead of Russian Daniil Kvyat of Red Bull, Brazilian Felipe Massa in the second Williams and Australian Daniel Ricciardo in the second Red Bull.
GRID FOR THE 2015 SPANISH GRAND PRIX:
1st row
Nico Rosberg (GER/Mercedes)
Lewis Hamilton (GBR/Mercedes)
2nd row
Sebastian Vettel (GER/Ferrari)
Valtteri Bottas (FIN/Williams-Mercedes)
3rd row
Carlos Sainz Jr (ESP/Toro Rosso-Renault)
Max Verstappen (NED/Toro Rosso-Renault)
4th row
Kimi Raikkonen (FIN/Ferrari)
Daniil Kvyat (RUS/Red Bull-Renault)
5th row
Felipe Massa (BRA/Williams-Mercedes)
Daniel Ricciardo (AUS/Red Bull-Renault)
6th row
Romain Grosjean (FRA/Lotus-Mercedes)
Pastor Maldonado (VEN/Lotus-Mercedes)
7th row
Fernando Alonso (ESP/McLaren-Honda)
Jenson Button (GBR/McLaren-Honda)
8th row
Felipe Nasr (BRA/Sauber-Ferrari)
Marcus Ericsson (SWE/Sauber-Ferrari)
9th row
Nico Hülkenberg (GER/Force India-Mercedes)
Sergio Perez (MEX/Force India-Mercedes)
10th row
Will Stevens (GBR/Marussia-Ferrari)
Roberto Merhi (ESP/Marussia-Ferrari)
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Results
2pm Handicap (PA) Dh85,000 1,800m
Winner AF Al Baher, Tadhg O’Shea (jockey), Ernst Oertel (trainer).
2.30pm Maiden (TB) Dh75,000 1,400m
Winner Alla Mahlak, Fabrice Veron, Rashed Bouresly.
3pm Handicap (TB) Dh80,000 1,400m
Winner Davy Lamp, Adrie de Vries, Rashed Bouresly.
3.30pm Handicap (TB) Dh105,000 1,400m
Winner Ode To Autumn, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar.
4pm Handicap (TB) Dh80,000 1,950m
Winner Arch Gold, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson.
4.30pm Maiden (TB) Dh75,000 1,800m
Winner Meqdam, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson.
5pm Handicap (TB) Dh90,000 1,800m
Winner Native Appeal, Sam Hitchcott, Doug Watson.
5.30pm Maiden (TB) Dh75,000 1,400m
Winner Amani Pico, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
The Buckingham Murders
Starring: Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ash Tandon, Prabhleen Sandhu
Director: Hansal Mehta
Rating: 4 / 5
SPECS
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The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
Company%20profile
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The specs
Engine: 2-litre or 3-litre 4Motion all-wheel-drive Power: 250Nm (2-litre); 340 (3-litre) Torque: 450Nm Transmission: 8-speed automatic Starting price: From Dh212,000 On sale: Now
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Company%20Profile
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The Penguin
Starring: Colin Farrell, Cristin Milioti, Rhenzy Feliz
Creator: Lauren LeFranc
Rating: 4/5
FIGHT%20CARD
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Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha
Starring: Ajay Devgn, Tabu, Shantanu Maheshwari, Jimmy Shergill, Saiee Manjrekar
Director: Neeraj Pandey
Rating: 2.5/5
Virtuzone GCC Sixes
Date and venue Friday and Saturday, ICC Academy, Dubai Sports City
Time Matches start at 9am
Groups
A Blighty Ducks, Darjeeling Colts, Darjeeling Social, Dubai Wombats; B Darjeeling Veterans, Kuwait Casuals, Loose Cannons, Savannah Lions; C Awali Taverners, Darjeeling, Dromedary, Darjeeling Good Eggs
Company%20Profile
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UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Everton%20Fixtures
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