Although Mercedes have swept through the qualifying in Shanghai grabbing the 'one, two', Ferrari may once again challenge their dominance in the Chinese Grand Prix.
Lewis Hamilton grabbed yet another pole in the Chinese Grand Prix, and Saturday's final qualifying session saw him grab his third pole position from as many races in the 2015 season.
After Sebastian Vettel topped the standings in the second qualifying session with Hamilton ending on fifth, the reigning World Champion overturned his poor run in the second qualifying session by topping the standings in the third and final qualifying session and grabbed the elusive pole position.
Hamilton grabbed his third pole position from as many races in the season and will be looking to take the lead on his Ferrari rival Vettel in the Driver's Standings, who finished third in the final qualifying session. Nico Rosberg was just a close second to his Mercedes counterpart, but he easily pushed away the pressure from Vettel as he grabbed second place at the Chequered flag.
In spite of taking pole position in dominant fashion, Hamilton was quick to say that the Chinese Grand Prix was going to be a 'nose-to-nose' finish with Ferrari.
The Malaysian Grand Prix was clear evidence that the 2015 F1 season wasn't going to be a cake walk for Mercedes, as it was in the 2014 F1 season, with Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel stealing the race out of Mercedes' grasp. In a race that had seen Lewis Hamilton start strongly, Vettel took the race by storm when he over took Nico Rosberg in a 'classic' racing encounter and looked certain for victory.
With a high risk routine paying off for Ferrari when Vettel remained on the track when the Safety Car was deployed during the race, Vettel was able to open up a huge lead over second placed Hamilton. And even after a taking a pit stop in the dying moments of the race, Vettel re-established his lead when he came back on and went on to record his first victory in the red of Ferrari.
Although its too early in the season to make any claims, Vettel's Malaysian Grand Prix victory burst the World Championship race wide open with only three points separating Lewis Hamilton (43) and Sebsatian Vettel (40).
On the contrast, Vettel finished third in the final qualifying session in Shanghai, a full second behind both the Mercedes, but another shock may be on the cards as Vettel will look to emulate Ayrton Senna's haul of 41 career wins with a win in Shanghai this Sunday.
The final qualifying results in Shanghai confirmed that Lewis Hamilton will lead the pack in Sunday's race, with his Mercedes counterpart Nico Rosberg right behind him on second.
The final Qualifying results for the Chinese Grand Prix:
1. Lewis Hamilton (Britain) Mercedes 1:35.782
2. Nico Rosberg (Germany) Mercedes 1:35.824
3. Sebastian Vettel (Germany) Ferrari 1:36.687
4. Felipe Massa (Brazil) Williams-Mercedes 1:36.954
5. Valtteri Bottas (Finland) Williams-Mercedes 1:37.143
6. Kimi Raikkonen (Finland) Ferrari 1:37.232
7. Daniel Ricciardo (Australia) RedBull - Renault 1:37.540
8. Romain Grosjean (France) Lotus - Mercedes 1:37.905
9. Felipe Nasr (Brazil) Sauber - Ferrari 1:38.067
10. Marcus Ericsson (Sweden) Sauber - Ferrari 1:38.158
11. Pastor Maldonado (Venezuela) Lotus - Mercedes 1:38.134
12. Daniil Kvyat (Russia) RedBull - Renault 1:38.209
13. Max Verstappen (Netherlands) Toro Rosso - Renault 1:38.393
14. Carlos Sainz Jr (Spain) Toro Rosso - Renault 1:38.538
15. Sergio Perez (Mexico) Force India - Mercedes 1:39.290
16. Nico Huelkenberg (Germany) Force India - Mercedes 1:39.216
17. Jenson Button (Britain) McLaren 1:39.276
18. Fernando Alonso (Spain) McLaren 1:39.280
19. Will Stevens (Britain) Marussia - Ferrari 1:42.091
20. Roberto Merhi (Spain) Marussia - Ferrari 1:42.842
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