 Qualifying got under way on Saturday afternoon with new rules in place . Just as in years before , the qualifying procedure was divided into three parts , with the first part ( Q1 ) running for 16 minutes and the second and third parts ( Q2 and Q3 ) being 15 and 14 minutes long respectively . All twenty @-@ two cars contested the first part , with seven drivers eliminated from further contention in each of the first two parts of qualifying , leaving eight drivers to compete for pole position in Q3 . However , in a change of rules , drivers were now eliminated during the session , with the slowest runner at a given point being taken out from contention every ninety seconds , beginning seven minutes into Q1 , six minutes into Q2 and five minutes into Q3 . 
