Rosberg leads Mercedes charge in China

Nico Rosberg secured the first pole position of his career as Mercedes locked out the front of the grid for the Chinese Grand Prix.

The German driver produced a near-perfect lap at the Shanghai International Circuit to out-qualify McLaren's Lewis Hamilton by half a second. British driver Hamilton was actually the second fastest qualifier on Saturday but due to a gearbox change will start seventh on the grid following a five-place penalty. As a result of Hamilton's demotion Michael Schumacher will start from second as he completes an all-Mercedes front row for the first time since 1955. The biggest shock of the qualifying session was world champion Sebastian Vettel's failure to make it into the top-10 shoot-out as he could only manage 11th place. Red Bull team-mate Mark Webber will start from sixth on the grid, with Jenson Button ahead of him in fifth, while Sauber's Kamui Kobayashi secured third and Lotus' Kimi Raikkonen fourth. However, it was Rosberg's day as he took pole position for the first time in 111 races, much to his delight. Rosberg said: "It's a very special feeling. I got a perfect lap. "In the race we have been not as good as in qualifying. It's not something you can improve quickly, but we are doing our best. I don't know how it's going to go, but I'm going to work hard tonight and make the most of it."