Qualifying was scheduled to consist of three parts, 18, 15 and 12 minutes in length respectively, with five drivers eliminated from competing after each of the first two sessions. The first part of qualifying (Q1) was disrupted after a little more than five minutes, when Sainz crashed at turn four, bringing out red flags. Due to the prospect of worsening rain and the chance that qualifying could be brought to an end by the weather at any point, the teams fought for grid positions early on, with Lewis Hamilton, Nico Rosberg and Daniel Ricciardo setting the fastest times. Apart from Sainz, both Manor Marussia drivers were eliminated, along with the two Sauber cars of Marcus Ericsson and Felipe Nasr. Sebastian Vettel, after making contact with a barrier, finished Q1 in fifteenth place, barely making it into Q2.
