Lewis Hamilton secured his fifth pole position in China and his third of the 2015 season as he pipped team-mate Nico Rosberg by just 0.042 of a second.
The Mercedes duo enjoyed a clear advantage as both got below the 1:36 mark, leaving third-placed Sebastian Vettel almost a second down on Hamilton’s best.
The winner last time out in Malaysia starts ahead of Williams duo Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas, whilst his own team-mate starts down in sixth after he struggled for pace in Q3.
Daniel Ricciardo was the best placed Renault powered car to take sixth ahead of Romain Grosjean and the two Sauber cars which surprised once again.
Pastor Maldonado narrowly missed the Q3 cut by just a few tenths. He starts 11th ahead of the second Red Bull, the two Toro Rossos and the Force India pair.
McLaren failed to escape Q1 despite their confidence. Jenson Button outqualified Fernando Alonso yet again, albeit by the smallest of margins.
We’re likely to see the first full grid of the season after Manor managed to get both cars out on track to qualify within the 107 per cent time.
| # | Driver | Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 |
| 01. | L. Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:38.285 | 1:36.423 | 1:35.782 |
| 02. | N. Rosberg | Mercedes | 1:38.496 | 1:36.747 | 1:35.824 |
| 03. | S. Vettel | Ferrari | 1:38.502 | 1:36.957 | 1:36.687 |
| 04. | F. Massa | Williams | 1:38.433 | 1:37.357 | 1:36.954 |
| 05. | V. Bottas | Williams | 1:38.014 | 1:37.763 | 1:37.143 |
| 06. | K. Raikkonen | Ferrari | 1:37.790 | 1:37.109 | 1:37.232 |
| 07. | D. Ricciardo | Red Bull | 1:38.534 | 1:37.939 | 1:37.540 |
| 08. | R. Grosjean | Lotus | 1:38.209 | 1:38.063 | 1:37.905 |
| 09. | F. Nasr | Sauber | 1:38.521 | 1:38.017 | 1:38.067 |
| 10. | M. Ericsson | Sauber | 1:38.941 | 1:38.127 | 1:38.158 |
| 11. | P. Maldonado | Lotus | 1:38.563 | 1:38.134 | |
| 12. | D. Kvyat | Red Bull | 1:39.051 | 1:38.209 | |
| 13. | M. Verstappen | Toro Rosso | 1:38.387 | 1:38.393 | |
| 14. | C. Sainz Jr | Toro Rosso | 1:38.622 | 1:38.538 | |
| 15. | S. Perez | Force India | 1:38.903 | 1:39.290 | |
| 16. | N. Hulkenberg | Force India | 1:39.216 | ||
| 17. | J. Button | McLaren | 1:39.276 | ||
| 18. | F. Alonso | McLaren | 1:39.280 | ||
| 19. | W. Stevens | Manor | 1:42.091 | ||
| 20. | R. Merhi | Manor | 1:42.842 |
