Shanghai, China (SportsNetwork.com) - Defending Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton claimed his third pole in as many races this season after edging his Mercedes teammate, Nico Rosberg, in Saturday's qualifying for the Chinese Grand Prix.
Hamilton made a lap around the 3.387-mile (5.451-kilometer) Shanghai International Circuit in 1 minute, 35.782 seconds for his 41st career F1 pole, including his third straight and fifth overall in the Chinese GP. His lap time was only 0.042 seconds quicker than Rosberg.
Last year, Hamilton won the Chinese GP for a record third time. He was quickest in both of Friday's practice sessions here and led the way in final practice, held shortly before qualifying.
"I think China is continuing to be generally a good circuit for me," Hamilton said. "I just like the track. I guess it just naturally suits my driving style as opposed to other circuits. It's got a great combination of corners, and the race is a good challenge."
It's the second time this season that Rosberg qualified second to Hamilton. They started 1-2 in last month's Australian Grand Prix, a race that Hamilton won.
"I'm frustrated because it's so close, and of course, I would have wanted the pole today," Rosberg said.
Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel qualified third and was nearly a second behind Hamilton. Vettel won the Malaysian Grand Prix after starting second there two weeks ago.
"Definitely looking forward to going racing, and hopefully go race them (Hamilton and Rosberg) tomorrow," Vettel said. "It's a long race, and tires are very important here. We'll try to do well and get a lot of points."
Williams teammates Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas qualified fourth and fifth, respectively, while Kimi Raikkonen placed his Ferrari sixth on the starting grid.
Daniel Ricciardo from Red Bull will start seventh, followed by Lotus' Romain Grosjean and the Sauber duo of Felipe Nasr and Marcus Ericsson.
McLaren drivers Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso failed to advance into the second round, with Button qualifying 17th and Alonso 18th.
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