Nico Rosberg claims Suzuka pole ahead of title rival Lewis Hamilton

Championship leader Nico Rosberg has turned up the heat on Lewis Hamilton by edging out his title rival to claim pole position for the Japanese Grand Prix.

Rosberg, who leads Hamilton in the standings by 23 points, was just 13 thousandths of a second faster than his Mercedes team-mate in a nail-biting qualifying session in Suzuka on today.