In the week before the race, the
FIA revised the rules governing pit-to-car communications following criticism from the teams in light of a penalty given to
Nico Rosberg at the
British Grand Prix for receiving assistance outside those allowed under the regulations; and in the aftermath of
Sergio Pérez's brake failure and subsequent retirement from the
Austrian Grand Prix, which
Force India was particularly critical of in light of the safety implications arising from Pérez's accident. The rules, first introduced during the season, were intended to crack down on driver coaching—stating that a competitor must drive the car "alone and unaided"—but allowing teams the scope to alert drivers to the imminent failure of components. Mixed conditions in the first qualifying session meant that a record eleven drivers failed to make the
107% time:
Red Bull Racing's
Max Verstappen and
Daniel Ricciardo;
Williams'
Felipe Massa and
Valtteri Bottas;
Force India's
Nico Hulkenberg and
Sergio Pérez;
Renault's
Kevin Magnussen and
Jolyon Palmer;
Manor's
Pascal Wehrlein and
Rio Haryanto; and
Sauber's
Marcus Ericsson. Due to the exceptional circumstances, all eleven were permitted to start the race, and the fastest five - Ricciardo, Verstappen, Hulkenberg, Bottas, and Pérez - were allowed to proceed to Q2 as normal.
Lewis Hamilton took a comfortable win ahead of his teammate Rosberg, their only challenge came from
Daniel Ricciardo who did threaten but ultimately faded away before finishing in 3rd place holding off a charge from
Ferrari's
Sebastian Vettel.
Jenson Button was the only retirement from the race when he was instructed to stop after an oil leak in his
McLaren in what he described as "A race from hell". ==Classification==