Sao Paulo: Nico Hulkenberg of Williams, surprisingly, took pole position for the Brazilian Grand Prix, beating the Red Bulls of Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber.

Lewis Hamilton of McLaren was fourth and championship leader Fernando Alonso of Ferrari fifth. Hulkenberg stunned the field, with a fastest lap of one minute, 14.470 seconds at the 4.3-kilometer (2.6-mile) Interlagos track, while Vettel clocked 1:15.519 and Webber set a time of 1:15.637.

It was the first pole for rookie Hulkenberg, who took advantage of a damp track that set the field for a race that could decide the F1 championship.

Five drivers are still in contention with two races to go, but only Alonso can clinch the championship in Brazil. Webber, Hamilton, Vettel and Jenson Button are trying to extend the title race into the season-finale on November 14 in Abu Dhabi.

Alonso has 231 points, 11 more than Webber and 21 more than Hamilton. Vettel is 25 points back and Button is 42 behind. The win is worth 25 points.

It rained overnight and all morning long in Sao Paulo and the final practice session took place under very wet conditions. It stopped raining before qualifying, however, and drivers were able to run on intermediate tires on a damp track. Everyone put on slicks in the final minutes and Hulkenberg was the one who made the most of his runs.

Force India’s Adrian Sutil and Toro Rosso’s Sebastien Buemi automatically lost five grid position after being penalised for causing collisions at the Korean GP two weeks ago. (Agencies)