Japanese GP: Sebastian Vettel cruises to pole in Asia

Sebastian Vettel survived a stewards enquiry to secure a dominant pole position in Japan leaving him as 4/7 favourite to cross the line first on Sunday.

The defending champion cruised to the front of the grid in Asia despite being questioned about whether he cut off current leader Fernando Alonso at the chicane, but he escaped with a reprimand and kept his hard-earned premier position.

The Ferrari driver didn’t enjoy his finest day, finishing down in sixth, well over a second behind the German leaving him at 16/1 to be victorious this weekend, and with Vettel just 29 points behind the Spaniard this meeting could blow the title race wide open.

A fantastic day for Red Bull was confirmed as Mark Webber qualified just behind his teammate with a solid drive that will give the Australian every chance of challenging for the chequered flag and he may be worth a punt at 5/1.

The top three was completed by Jenson Button.

However, the Brit will start down in eighth after a penalty for a gearbox change and it will take an inspired drive to top the pile which is reflected in his 14/1 price.

Lewis Hamilton’s first qualifying session since announcing he is to leave McLaren for Mercedes next year didn’t go as planned and he finds himself down in ninth.

The controversial driver claimed he got his set up all wrong and he now appears to have a mountain to climb at 14/1 to be atop of the podium come Sunday.

Kamui Kobayashi had an impressive drive and will find himself in third thanks to Button’s penalty and the aggressive Japanese could be a real threat in his home race at 25/1 when he lines up on the second row of the grid.

All odds and markets correct as of publication