German engineering

Rosberg completed just one lap in the third session and then returned to the pits,watching as rival after rival failed to come close to his time of 1 minute,35.121 seconds. It was strange beforehand because I was standing there on my own and everybody else was still going round and I cant do anything anymore, he said. And then slowly but surely,I saw the sector times and I saw that it was definitely going to be enough,so fantastic.

It was a disappointing day for defending world champion Sebastian Vettel,however,as the Red Bull driver failed to even make it into the final qualifying session and will start from 11th place. Schumacher is still looking for his first podium finish since returning to the sport in 2010,and Mercedes looks to have finally produced a car that can get him there. Even the German great,though,was surprised at how fast Rosberg was. For all of us,to see the gap that big is a bit of a surprise,but there you go, Schumacher said. Hes known as a good qualifier and no reason to be unhappy.

The 26-year-old Rosberg captured his first pole in his 110th race in F1. Hes only had five podium finishes in his entire career. The true test for Mercedes,however,will come on Sunday. The team has been quick in qualifying this year,but then failed to keep up with the other teams in both races. Schumacher was third in qualifying in Malaysia,but then finished 10th in the race.

Mercedes has been trying to remedy its quick tire degradation since then,and hopes to find out on Sunday whether the work has been successful. In qualifying were very,very strong right now, Rosberg said. In the race were still not quite as strong and not where we want to be yet. But also there,were learning a lot and progressing fast. The thing is we cant make huge jumps in a couple of weeks,its going to take a bit more time,but were getting there.

Hamilton was attempting to top qualifying for the third straight race to start the season,but the McLarens could not match a Mercedes car which is perfectly suited for the China circuit and its very long straight. Saubers Kamui Kobayashi was an impressive fourth in qualifying,followed by Kimi Raikkonen of Lotus,Jenson Button of McLaren,Mark Webber of Red Bull and Sergio Perez of Sauber.

Fernando Alonso of Ferrari and Romain Grosjean of Lotus rounded out the top 10. Even though Hamilton will have to work his way up through the field,the Briton is not discounting his teams chances on Sunday after a strong start to the season. Button captured the season-opening Australian GP and Hamilton has two third-place finishes.

Vettel off the pace

Red Bull may need to wait a bit longer for its first win of the season. After dominating the 2011 season,the team has had a relatively lackluster start to 2012,with just one podium finish Vettels second place in Melbourne. The German,who had won three consecutive poles in Shanghai,was well off the pace of teammate Webber in the second qualifying session Saturday. The Australian is using a revamped exhaust system this weekend,which Vettel had decided to forego as the reduced downforce did not suit his driving style. Its the first time Vettel wont start in the top 10 on the grid since Brazil 2009. There was no problem with the car,but I couldnt get the final few tenths, he said. We werent fast enough and we have to accept it.

Eighth row start for FI

Sahara Force Indian drivers Paul di Resta and Nico Hulkenberg will start in the eighth row on the grid in Chinese Grand Prix Formula One race after finishing 15th and 16th in the qualifying on Saturday. Di Resta clocked 1:36.317 to finish 15th in the second qualifying session Q2,a place ahead of his teammate Hulkenberg 1:36.745.

HRTs Indian driver Narain Karthikeyan finished 24th and last,clocking 1 minute 41 seconds in the Q1 qualifying session and he will start last on the grid in the 12th row on Sunday.

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