Vettel back on pole in Japanese Grand Prix for 4th year

SUZUKA, Japan (REUTERS) Dominant double world champion Sebastian Vettel took pole position at the Japanese Grand Prix for the fourth year in succession on Saturday, with Mark Webber to start alongside the German on an all-Red Bull front row.

Ferrari's Formula One championship leader Fernando Alonso, who is 29 points clear of Vettel with six races to go, will start on the third row in sixth place, while Japan's Kamui Kobayashi in a Sauber delighted the home crowd by taking third.

Vettel and Alonso were both called to the stewards afterwards and the German was reprimanded after being accused of impeding the Spaniard at the last corner in the dying seconds of a sunny session.

Vettel's lap of one minute 30.839 denied title rivals McLaren, whose drivers had struggled with set-up problems, a fifth pole in a row for the season.