Lewis Hamilton will line up on pole position for today’s Chinese Grand Prix (start: 9am) after putting in a storming lap in treacherous conditions to maintain Mercedes’s qualifying stranglehold.
The Briton’s best time of one minute 53.860 seconds through rain and spray was a hefty 0.595 of a second quicker than Red Bull’s Australian Daniel Ricciardo, who joined him on the front row.
“It is so slippery out there, the conditions – trying to find the grip, not making mistakes on your lap and really putting it together,” said Hamilton, who will be chasing his third win in a row today.
“It was a tough session. I really enjoyed it. The car was feeling great. I hope that we can follow through.”
It was Hamilton’s third pole in four races this season and 34th of his F1 career, pushing the 29-year-old past the late Jim Clark’s British record that he equalled in Malaysia last month.
He is now fourth on the all-time pole list led by Michael Schumacher with 68.
Red Bull’s quadruple Formula One world champion Sebastian Vettel was third fastest, but more than a second slower than Hamilton and outqualified by team-mate Ricciardo for the third time in four races.
Championship leader Nico Rosberg, who had been on pole in the previous Bahrain GP, completed the second row for Mercedes after running wide on his second lap and then spinning on his final flying lap.
The German will have his work cut out today if he is to win at the scene of his maiden grand prix triumph in 2012.
“I was just struggling on the brakes and that’s why my last sector was so bad. The braking was really difficult and that’s a pity,” said Rosberg.
Ricciardo, whose team lost their appeal earlier in the week against his exclusion from second place in Australia, bounced back in Red Bull’s best combined qualifying effort of a difficult season so far.
The Australian, impressive since joining from Toro Rosso at the end of last year, found a chunk of time late in the final part of qualifying after having trailed the German during the first two sessions.
Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso, last year’s winner in China, qualified fifth with new team boss Marco Mattiacci looking on from the pit wall after watching Friday’s sessions from the garage.
However, it was a day of mixed fortunes for the sport’s glamour team with Kimi Raikkonen failing to make it through to the top 10 shootout after struggling for grip all session long.
Felipe Massa qualified sixth for Williams, who had Valtteri Bottas seventh with both hoping to move up in the race.
Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg lines up eighth, with Frenchman Jean-Eric Vergne ninth in the Toro Rosso ahead of compatriot Romain Grosjean, who gave Lotus their best qualifying result so far this season in 10th.
Grosjean’s Venezuelan teammate Pastor Maldonado did not take part in qualifying due to problems related to the Renault power unit.
Neither McLaren driver made it through to the final phase of qualifying, with Jenson Button 12th and Danish rookie Kevin Magnussen 15th.
Today’s grid in Shanghai
1. Hamilton, Mercedes - 1:53.860
2. Ricciardo, Red Bull - 1:54.455
3. Vettel, Red Bull - 1:54.960
4. Rosberg, Mercedes - 1:55.143
5. Alonso, Ferrari - 1:55.637
6. Massa, Williams - 1:56.147
7. Bottas, Williams - 1:56.282
8. Hulkenberg, F. India - 1:56.366
9. Vergne, Toro Rosso - 1:56.773
10. Grosjean, Lotus - 1:57.079
11. Raikkonen, Ferrari - 1:56.860
12. Button, McLaren - 1:56.963
13. Kvyat, Toro Rosso - 1:57.289
14. Sutil, Sauber - 1:57.393
15. Magnussen, McLaren - 1:57.675
16. Perez, Force India - 1:58.264
17. Gutierrez, Sauber - 1:58.988
18. Kobayashi, Caterham - 1:59.260
19. Bianchi, Marussia - 1:59.326
20. Ericsson, Caterham - 2:00.646
21. Chilton, Marussia - 2:00.865
22. Maldonado, Lotus - no time