 Qualifying consisted of three parts , 18 , 15 and 12 minutes in length respectively , with six drivers eliminated from competing after each of the first two sessions . In the first part of qualifying ( <unk> ) , Nico Rosberg set a time of 1 : 23 @.@ 002 , the fastest of the weekend up to that point , two @-@ tenths of a second ahead of teammate Hamilton . Manor and Sauber occupied the back rows of the grid . Felipe Massa 's first lap was seven @-@ tenths of a second slower than the one from his teammate Bottas and as he was unable to set another timed lap , he became the surprise elimination in <unk> , behind Jolyon Palmer , who was dropped into 17th place by a late improvement from Jenson Button . 
