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Story of qualifying: Lewis Hamilton supreme as Mercedes returns to form in style

ESPN looks at the main talking points from qualifying for the Japanese Grand Prix, where Mercedes proved it has overcome the blip of Singapore and Malaysia with a dominant pole position at Suzuka.

Shock: Kimi Raikkonen looked out of sorts all day and his FP3 crash at the second Degner left him with a grid penalty for Sunday's race. He was unable to minimise the cost, however, with both Red Bull's beating the Finn to fourth and fifth at a circuit Ferrari should expect to be the next quickest behind Mercedes. Once the penalty is applied, Raikkonen will start from 11th -- hardly a favourable position for Ferrari and its hopes of stopping Lewis Hamilton this weekend.