Welcome to ESPNF1's coverage of qualifying for the Korean Grand Prix. If you were with us this morning you will know that Jenson Button was quickest in a busy dry session, while Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel still have more pace to show. It should be an exciting Q3...

That is assuming that all of the front runners make it through to the final part of qualifying, of course. It's close again in the midfield, so the battle to make it that far could also be interesting with Renault, Force India, Toro Rosso and Sauber all within about half a second of each other based on their times this morning

So will we see the first non-Red Bull pole of the season? It's only McLaren that looks capable of doing so, but it looks as strong if not stronger than it was in Suzuka, when Button missed out on pole by 0.009s and Hamilton didn't do a second run that could well have delivered him the prime spot on the grid

Ralph L. Davis III asks on Facebook: "Are we looking at another 'tyre-saving' Q3 in a couple of hours?"

We could well be Ralph, as Pirelli has supplied the soft and supersoft tyres this weekend in what it calls an "aggressive" tyre strategy. That means some teams have been looking at four or five stop strategies ahead of the race, and Vettel even joked that he could need to complete the race on intermediate tyres. As a result those who make it through to Q3 but have no ambitions of a place on the front three rows probably will stay in the garage

With a lot of rain yesterday teams have still been wary of the weather, but Mike Gascoyne on Twitter says the session should remain dry:

"15 mins to go, weather radar looking clear at the moment"

So Button was quickest in FP3, but Hamilton and Vettel both hit traffic on their quickest laps. Who's your tip for pole? You can let us know by getting in touch with us using the link above or via Twitter @ESPNF1_live

Before we turn our attentions to pole position though, we've got to lose seven drivers in Q1. Daniel Ricciardo was slowest this morning after a mechanical problem caused him to stop in the pit lane, restricting him to just 11 laps. Tonio Liuzzi, however, was in amongst the Virgins so we could see a good battle for 21st place. Expect Lotus to be ahead of both teams, and then it's probably the Williams pair who look the most in danger of dropping out

The 20 minute session is underway and it's the Renault pair who are first out; Senna leading Petrov

Senna will be looking to try and get through safely after a spin in FP3 which left him with a broken front wing. He's on the soft tyre for his first run, which is the harder of the two compounds available

Force India (ClubForce) on Twitter: "All set for the qualy hour. Q3 has got to be the target today, but it will be very competitive."

Petrov with a big lockup in to turn four, but he sets the quickest time so far with a 1:39.406, half a second quicker than Senna

Suddenly the track is very busy. Hamilton is out on soft tyres, but both Red Bulls are on supersofts...

Senna with the quickest first sector, but Hamilton much quicker in the second and on for the quickest time

Hamilton goes top with a 1:38.278, still over a second slower than the best FP3 time

Webber goes third on the supersoft tyres. Alonso is on softs and on a lap

Alonso goes second, within a tenth of Hamilton. Massa third 0.3s further back. Vettel and Webber both doing 1m39.0s on the supersofts

Rosberg with a new fastest first sector and he goes fourth with a 1:38.679 on the soft tyres

Both Red Bulls pit, so they may have been doing some more race set-up runs

Hamilton improves his best time to a 1:37.525

Still no time from wither Williams, Kovalainen or Ricciardo, while Liuzzi is outside the 107% time of 1:44.351 with a 1:44.586

Work going on in the HRT garage on the back of Ricciardo's car. He's been out on track but not completed a flying lap

Just the one run for both Williams cars, as Barrichello heads out. Kovalainen is 17th at the moment

Schumacher and Rosberg both improve their times for. Schumacher is fifth and just 0.109s slower than Alonso in third

Petrov is now on the supersoft tyre, so we will see how much time he gains from his original 1:39.406

Petrov does a 1:38.378 to go third, so he found over a second on those tyres. The track will still be rubbering in too after so little dry running

Barrichello goes 14th with his first lap on supersoft tyres, Maldonado can only go 16th

Perez improves to tenth. At the moment it's Kobayashi in the drop zone

But Kobayashi goes 15th to knock Maldonado down with 90 seconds remaining

Sutil is in 17th but on a lap, di Resta 7th

Sutil goes ninth and should be through

All these times on supersofts now

Senna and Alguersuari in the pits and not going to be able to improve

Ricciardo is out of his car, he can't set a time. His HRT team-mate has improved to a 1:43.758 so within 107%

Barrichello backs out and Maldonado is pushing hard to knock him out. It's a straight fight...

And Maldonado just makes it through in 16th, knocking out his team-mate Barrichello

Improvements from Kovalainen and Glock, but neither can move up a place.

So, dropping out are: Barrichello, Kovalainen, Truill, Glock, D'Ambrosio, Liuzzi and Ricciardo. Ricciardo didn't set a time but everyone else at least 0.6s inside the 107% time

It was so close for that final spot, with 0.2s between Barrichello in 18th and Senna in 13th

Barrichello lost all of that time in the final sector, being 0.3s slower than all of those ahead of him, which could point to his tyres going off

Jonathan (_jonchai) asks on Twitter; "why is the track so dusty?"

The track isn't heavily used the rest of the year Jonathan, with the BBC saying that its main use is as the test track for Korean Top Gear. Having had rain yesterday as well, this morning's one hour of practice was the only opportunity to clean the track up

We are go for Q2, but nobody on track yet

McLaren seem to be reacting to Red Bull's strategy as Hamilton heads straight out on supersoft tyres. Red Bull appear to be looking to save their soft tyres, having had wear problems with the compound in Japan

The first flying lap is set by di Resta, and it's a 1:38.868 - 0.3s slower than his best Q1 time

Hamilton does a 1:36.526, while Button is a fair distance away with a 1:37.302

Webber goes second with a 1:37.292

Alonso fourth, 0.8s off the pace

Vettel goes second but he too is 0.7s slower than Hamilton having almost lost the rear end opening the DRS in the last corner

Schumacher going for one run, while Maldonado may not go out at all

Senna pits having not set a time. Both Toro Rossos and Patrov are currently through

Schumacher starts his flying lap with the track to himself

Slightly surprising to see both Toro Rosso cars ahead of Force India at present

Schumacher only goes ninth with his flying lap. He was reporting vibrations on his outlap

That pushes Buemi down to 11th though. Maldonado has decided to head out, as has Massa

Stephen emails in the grid he'd like to see: "I hope Lewis and Felipe occupy the front row, with Vettel and Button on the second. For sure it's going to become a great start."

Massa starts his flying lap. The top six are feeling comfortable enough, while Schumacher has pitted from ninth and is in danger of dropping out

Sutil sets the fastest first sector

Massa goes fifth ahead of Alonso and Rosberg so will be safe. Maldonado can only beat Perez

Sutil goes ninth, knocking Schumacher down to 10th...

Alguersuari makes it in to tenth so Schumacher is out

Di Resta beats Alguersuari for 10th

Buemi and Senna on laps, as is Kobayashi

Buemi can't improve, stays 13th

A poor lap from Senna, while the Sauber's didn't have the pace. None can make it through

So Alguersuari, Schumacher, Buemi, Kobayashi, Senna, Maldonado and Perez drop out

Now, I've called a Williams to drop out in Q1 and the Force India's to beat the Toro Rosso's so far today and been correct, so I'm going for the hat-trick: Hamilton for pole. Don't put too much trust in it though, where's your money?

The top ten shootout will be between Hamilton, Vettel, Webber, Button, Massa, Alonso, Rosberg, Petrov, Sutil and di Resta. Hamilton was 0.7s ahead of Vettel, while only a second covered the next nine cars

And the final session is underway. Quickly out on track are Rosberg and Hamilton

Probably one run from the Force Indias, but everyone else is out on track

Andrew Stoddart backs my Hamilton call on Twitter, as does Ron on email. I feel I'm setting myself up for a fall with this confidence...

Rosberg will be first to set a lap, followed by Hamilton, who is 0.3s up in the first sector and faster than both Ferraris too

Hamiltons lap is a 1:36.130, Massa a second off, Alonso 0.8s back

Button is next, he's 0.4s slower, Webber is 0.3s off pole

Here comes Vettel, and he's quick...

Vettel is so close, but he's 0.030s slower than Hamilton

The challenge has been thrown down by Hamilton. Vettel is told to quickly get back to the garage for a quick turnaround

Can Webber and Button respond too? They're not far off...

Webber leaves the pit lane, followed by Hamilton

Massa, Button and Alonso all in a line, while di Resta leaves the pits to do a lap. Rosberg and Sutil staying put though, so no time going to be set by Sutil

It's bunching up at the moment, with Webber ahead of Hamilton and then the gaggle of Massa, Button and Alonso

Webber winds it up to start his lap and Hamilton has found a nice gap

In fact, all five are well spread out. Di Resta close behind Alonso and Petrov right behind Vettel

Hamilton 0.011s shy in sector one, Button with a new fastest sector one

Vettel a tenth down on Button

Vettel catching di Resta on this lap, and di Resta has backed off

Hamilton improving...

Webber pits

Hamilton quicker with a 1:35.820

Button comes though in second...

Vettel can't do it, he's only second. HAMILTON HAS POLE. The first non-Red Bull pole position of the year

Hamilton was 0.2s quicker than Vettel with his lap, while Button was within 0.1s in third place

Massa improved on his final lap to beat Alonso too

So Lewis Hamilton climbs out of his car with the pole time, and his body language is that of a very determined man

So the top ten in full: Hamilton, Vettel, Button, Webber, Massa, Alonso, Rosberg, Petrov, di Resta and Sutil

I did call it didn't I? Kudos to Ron and Andrew for their predictions too

Vettel isn't exactly all smiles, but he told the team over the radio that they did "a great job" and that they've "saved a set of those tyres that are better". Definitely looking to the race, Red Bull

So, Hamilton responds to his latest troubles with pole position, while the World Champion lines up second on the grid with all eyes focused on his race strategy. It should be a fascinating race tomorrow, make sure you join us then. Thanks for all your emails and tweets, and keep an eye on ESPNF1.com for all of the reaction after qualifying. Bye for now