Lewis Hamilton claimed his third pole position of the season and will start at the front of the grid for the Chinese Grand Prix. Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo will start alongside Hamilton on the front row whilst Sebastien Vettel took third ahead of Nico Rosberg. It seems Red Bull have managed to find some pace and split the two Mercedes drivers. Is this a sign that the Mercedes dominance is being clawed back or will we see Rosberg finish ahead of both Ricciardo and Vettel in tomorrow's race?
My Opinion:
Mercedes - Hamilton (Pole), Rosberg (4th). Mercedes will be pleased that Hamilton will start on pole but Rosberg could only manage 4th which is his lowest qualification of the season. I fully expect Hamilton to go on and win but it will be really interesting to see who Rosberg gets on. I reckon he'll get on the podium but he will have a tough time of it getting past both of the Red Bulls.
Mclaren - Button (12th), Magnussen (15th). Terrible day of qualifying for McLaren. Both cars failed to make it into Q3 which can only be seen as a total disaster. It all seems to be going downhill for the team as they have failed to live up to a great start to the season. I would expect Button to take away some points but Magnussen may struggle to. Very disappointing but they need to salvage their weekend in the race.
Ferrari - Alonso (5th), Raikkonen (11th). Mixed day at Ferrari. Alonso was the quickest behind the Mercedes and Red Bulls and should be pleased with 5th but Raikkonen failed to make it into Q3 which is just not good enough. Alonso should be looking to finish the race in 5th or higher whilst Raikkonen should take away a point or two.
Williams - Massa (6th), Bottas (7th). Strong day for Williams. Massa had his best qualifying result after taking 6th which puts him in a good position for the race. Bottas has been consistent and will be satisfied with 7th. Plenty of points are on offer for Williams, it's just down to the drivers to bring them home.
Force India - Hulkenberg (8th), Perez (16th). Tough day for Force India. Hulkenberg claimed his lowest qualifying position in 8th and should be looking to claim a few points from the race but Perez had a nightmare after only qualifying in 16th. The young Mexican driver will have plenty to do tomorrow if he is to penetrate the top ten.
Red Bull - Ricciardo (2nd), Vettel (3rd). That was Red Bulls best qualifying result of the year. Young Australian star once again was faster than Vettel but they will be delighted to have split the two Mercedes drivers. It is a real chance to see if they can battle it out with Mercedes and it should be brilliant to watch. I predict that Ricciardo may finish on the podium but I'm yet to be convinced that about Vettel's chances so far this season and expect him to be passed by Rosberg.
Toro Rosso - Vergne (9th), Kvyat (13th). Decent day for Toro Rosso. Vergne progressed into Q3 but Kvyat was unable to. It will be tough for Vergne to stay in the top ten but he has a good chance of being able to whilst Kvyat will be battling away in the middle order. Most likely, only one of the two drivers may pick up a point or two but I can't see both doing so.
Sauber - Sutil (14th), Gutierrez (17th). Not too bad from Sauber. Sutil equalled his best performance and will start 14th whilst Gutierrez just missed out on making it into Q2. It has been a disastrous time on race day so far for Sauber so they will be desperate to see both cars finish to get some useful information to dissect.
Lotus - Grosjean (10th), Maldonado (22nd). Progress at Lotus. Grosjean made it into Q3 for the first time this year and will have a decent chance of finishing in the top ten tomorrow. However, Maldonado endured a terrible day and will have to start at the back of the grid.
Caterham - Kobayashi (18th), Ericsson (20th). Kobayashi was the quicker driver out of the two Caterham's but Ericsson equalled his best result of the year with 20th. They proved to be a little quicker than the Marussia's and I expect them to finish ahead of them in the race.
Marussia - Bianchi (19th), Chilton (21st). Marussia were the slowest team of the day but Bianchi can be pleased after splitting the two Caterhams. Chilton didn't have the pace today and will start on the back row.
Qualifying Result and Starting Grid:
Q3
Pole: Hamilton (Mercedes)
2. Ricciardo (Red Bull)
3. Vettel (Red Bull)
4. Rosberg (Mercedes)
5. Alonso (Ferrari)
6. Massa (Williams)
7. Bottas (Williams)
8. Hulkenberg (Force India)
9. Vergne (Toro Rosso)
10. Grosjean (Lotus)
Q2
11. Raikkonen (Ferrari)
12. Button (Mclaren)
13. Kvyat (Toro Rosso)
14. Sutil (Sauber)
15. Magnussen (Mclaren)
16. Perez (Force India)
Q1
17. Gutierrez (Sauber)
18. Kobayashi (Caterham)
19. Bianchi (Marussia)
20. Ericsson (Caterham)
21. Chilton (Marussia)
22. Maldonado (Lotus)
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