Johannesburg : Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg secured his first pole position of the season for the Chinese Grand Prix after edging past Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo in the qualifying at the Shanghai International Circuit.
The German driver, who is aiming for his sixth straight victory, finished the race in one minute and 35.402 seconds, despite using a harder tyre than his rivals, Sport24 reported.
Rosberg’s teammate Lewis Hamilton, who made an early exit from qualifying due to engine problem, will start Sunday’s race from the last after he was slapped with a five-place grid penalty over change in his Mercedes’ gearbox during Bahrain race.
Meanwhile, Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen finished third ahead of four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel.
Rosberg is currently leading the drivers’ championship table by 17 points after registering two back-to-back wins at Australian GP and Bahrain GP.
The Chinese Grand Prix will see the F1 reverting back to its 2015 qualifying format, which will be followed throughout the season. (ANI)