Nico Rosberg is on pole position for the Shanghai Grand Prix
Not only has Nico Rosberg taken pole position at the Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai, but he did it with one flying lap at the start of final qualifying to take his first F1 pole and Mercedes first since their return to F1 in 2010 after an absence of more than half a century.
Rosberg beat second place man Hamilton by a full half second, but Hamilton has a five place penalty for a gearbox change so starts seventh. Which means an all Mercedes front row, with Schumacher alongside team-mate Rosberg.
Behind the Mercedes front row is a jolly mix and match of surprise and disappointment. Sauber’s Kamui Kobayashi takes third place with F1 returnee Kimi Raikkonen alongside in the Lotus, pushing ‘big boys’ Button and Webber in to fifth and sixth for McLaren and Red Bull.
Sergio Perez in the other Sauber joins Hamilton on the fourth row with the last of the top ten made up by Fernando Alonso in the Ferrari in ninth and Romain Grosjean alongside in tenth.
Where’s Sebastian Vettel, you may ask? Well, for the first time in three years Vettel didn’t even make final qualifying, so he starts in eleventh spot alongside Ferrari’s wing man, Felipe Massa.
A topsy-turvy grid that could mean an interesting race.
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