Mercedes AMG Petronas
Lewis Hamilton claimed his third successive pole position as he beat Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg during qualifying for the Chinese Grand Prix.
Hamilton posted an initial time of 1:35.782 in Q3 but was unable to improve on his second lap, allowing Rosberg a chance of snatching pole position.
Rosberg’s time, however, was insufficient to take top spot but he ended just 0.042s shy of Hamilton’s pole position.
Sebastian Vettel was third quickest for Ferrari - nine-tenths behind Hamilton - while Felipe Massa beat Williams team-mate Valtteri Bottas to fourth place.
Kimi Räikkönen had a scruffy lap as he went sixth, while Daniel Ricciardo was the fastest Renault-powered driver in seventh.
Romain Grosjean went eighth for Lotus, while both Sauber drivers made it through to Q3, with Felipe Nasr ahead of Marcus Ericsson.
Pastor Maldonado narrowly failed to make it through to Q3, as did Red Bull’s Daniil Kvyat, who had a messy session on his way to the 12th fastest time.
Max Verstappen couldn’t improve on his final lap as he locked up and placed 13th, but he managed to beat Toro Rosso team-mate Carlos Sainz Jr.
Sergio Pérez progressed through to the second knockout session but opted to post only one lap and finished 15th, seven-tenths behind Sainz Jr.
Nico Hülkenberg was unable to escape from Q1 and he was joined in the drop zone by McLaren pair Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso, who were separated by just four thousandths of a second.
Manor Marussia will line-up at the back of the grid, with Will Stevens ahead of Roberto Merhi.
| Position | Number | Driver | Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:38.285 | 1:36.423 | 1:35.782 | 12 |
| 2 | 6 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 1:38.496 | 1:36.747 | 1:35.824 | 12 |
| 3 | 5 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 1:37.502 | 1:36.957 | 1:36.687 | 17 |
| 4 | 19 | Felipe Massa | Williams | 1:38.433 | 1:37.357 | 1:36.954 | 15 |
| 5 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Williams | 1:38.014 | 1:37.763 | 1:37.143 | 15 |
| 6 | 7 | Kimi Raikkonen | Ferrari | 1:37.790 | 1:37.109 | 1:37.232 | 17 |
| 7 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull Racing | 1:38.534 | 1:37.939 | 1:37.540 | 18 |
| 8 | 8 | Romain Grosjean | Lotus | 1:38.209 | 1:38.063 | 1:37.905 | 20 |
| 9 | 12 | Felipe Nasr | Sauber | 1:38.521 | 1:38.017 | 1:38.067 | 16 |
| 10 | 9 | Marcus Ericsson | Sauber | 1:38.941 | 1:38.127 | 1:38.158 | 15 |
| 11 | 13 | Pastor Maldonado | Lotus | 1:38.563 | 1:38.134 | 13 | |
| 12 | 26 | Daniil Kvyat | Red Bull Racing | 1:39.051 | 1:38.209 | 13 | |
| 13 | 33 | Max Verstappen | Toro Rosso | 1:38.387 | 1:38.393 | 14 | |
| 14 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | Toro Rosso | 1:38.622 | 1:38.538 | 14 | |
| 15 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Force India | 1:38.903 | 1:39.290 | 10 | |
| 16 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Force India | 1:39.216 | 6 | ||
| 17 | 22 | Jenson Button | McLaren | 1:39.276 | 6 | ||
| 18 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | McLaren | 1:39.280 | 8 | ||
| 19 | 28 | Will Stevens | Marussia | 1:42.091 | 6 | ||
| 20 | 98 | Roberto Merhi | Marussia | 1:42.842 | 8 |
