Qualifying: Rosberg breaks his pole duck

Nico Rosberg will start his Chinese Grand Prix from the pole position slot after blitzing the field by half a second in Shanghai

It took Rosberg 110 starts to get there, however, he won't be counting that number. In a perfect lap to start Q3, Rosberg clocked a 1:35.121 to edge Lewis Hamilton by a massive 0.505s.

With Hamilton incurring a five-place grid penalty for a gearbox change it will be an all-Mercedes front row as Michael Schumacher moves up from third to second.

Kamui Kobayashi was fourth quickest on Saturday and will therefore move up to P3 on the second row alongsideKimi Raikkonen.

Jenson Button is up to fifth and will start with Mark Webber alongside him. Hamilton is down to P7. The big surprise of qualifying was Sebastian Vettel failing to make Q3.

Times

01 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:35.121
02 Lewis Hamilton McLaren 1:35.626 0.505
03 Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1:35.691 0.570
04 Kamui Kobayashi Sauber 1:35.784 0.663
05 Kimi Räikkönen Lotus 1:35.898 0.777
06 Jenson Button McLaren 1:36.191 1.070
07 Mark Webber Red Bull 1:36.290 1.169
08 Sergio Perez Sauber 1:36.524 1.403
09 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1:36.622 1.501
10 Romain Grosjean Lotus No time
11 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull 1:36.031 0.33
12 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:36.255 0.555
13 Pastor Maldonado Williams 1:36.283 0.583
14 Bruno Senna Williams 1:36.289 0.589
15 Paul di Resta Force India 1:36.317 0.617
16 Nico Hulkenberg Force India 1:36.745 1.045
17 Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso 1:36.956 1.256
18 Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso 1:37.714 1.422
19 Heikki Kovalainen Caterham 1:38.463 2.171
20 Vitaly Petrov Caterham 1:38.677 2.385
21 Timo Glock Marussia 1:39.282 2.990
22 Charles Pic Marussia 1:39.717 3.425
23 Pedro de la Rosa HRT 1:40.411 4.119
24 Narain Karthikeyan HRT 1:41.000 4.708

Source: Planet-F1