Shanghai, April 17 (DPA) German Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel Saturday secured his third pole of the season when he topped the qualifying for Sunday’s Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai.
Vettel, who last year finished runner-up in the drivers’ championships, posted one minute 34.558 seconds for the 5.451 kilometre-long course.
Vettel will start the race alongside his team-mate Mark Webber, who added to the near-perfect Red Bull qualifying competition during this year’s season that has seen the team take all four pole positions for the four season races so far.
Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso will start from third place on the grid, alongside Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg, who again was much faster than his team-mate Michael Schumacher.
The seven-time world champion is starting from ninth on the grid, one place ahead of Adrian Sutil in a Force India.
The top 10 is completed by McLaren’s Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton, who will be on the third row of the grid after posting the fifth and sixth-fastest time respectively, while Felipe Massa in a Ferrari and Robert Kubica in a Renault will start from the fourth row.
After three races, Massa leads the drivers’ standings with 39 points from Alonso and Vettel, who are two points behind.
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