Updated

Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel claimed pole position for the Formula One Japanese Grand Prix, qualifying ahead of teammate Mark Webber on Saturday.

Vettel, a two-time winner in Japan, secured his fourth consecutive pole at Suzuka and will be in a good position in Sunday's race to further erode the championship lead of Ferrari's Fernando Alonso.

Vettel won the previous race in Singapore and is just 29 points behind Alonso in the standings with six races left. The German has always performed well at Suzuka, winning here in 2009 and 2010 and taking third place last year.

Alonso qualified seventh, and all of Red Bull's championship rivals will start the race several places back after a yellow caution flag in the final moments of qualifying prevented them getting in a last flying lap.