Lewis Hamilton believes that a rain-threatened Chinese Grand Prix could provide one of the most exciting races in recent times after he held off Sebastian Vettel to claim his second pole position of the new Formula One season.
Vettel, the four-time world champion, cemented his status as Hamilton’s number one rival this year by virtue of his victory at the opening round in Australia a fortnight ago.
And the title protagonists will do battle once more on Sunday after they locked out the front row of the grid following an enthralling qualifying session here in Shanghai.
The bad weather which wreaked havoc with Friday’s practice schedule, and forced the sport’s new owners to consider moving the grand prix forward by 24 hours, is poised for a menacing return on race day.
But Hamilton hopes a combination of the predicted wet weather, and his new rivalry with Vettel, will lead to a fascinating spectacle as he bids to get his championship assault back on track.
“It is more exciting than ever for me because we are really fighting with these guys,” said a beaming Hamilton after posting the fastest lap ever recorded at the Shanghai International Circuit.
“It is amazing and that is what racing is all about, and it really pushes you to raise the bar every time you go out, which I love.
“Tomorrow is going to be an unusual day. I heard it is wet to start off and I have not driven the new wet tyre this season.
“It will be a new lesson but it is going to be close, and that bodes well for one of the most exciting days to come for a long time.”
Clear skies in Shanghai ensured the cars roared back into life following Friday’s farce in which the circuit was open for a paltry 20 minutes of action.
And while it appeared that Vettel held the advantage after topping the order in practice on Saturday morning, before going faster than Hamilton in the first two phases of qualifying, it was the Mercedes man who made it matter when it counted.
He held his nerve to finish 0.186 seconds ahead of the German and celebrated by climbing on top of the scaffolding adorning the pit straight to pump his fist and salute his large legion of Chinese fans in the main grandstand — many of whom were waving Union Jacks.
His Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas finished third, just one thousandths of a second slower than Vettel. Kimi Raikkonen lines up fourth in the sister Ferrari.
“If we could have been a bit quicker at the end I would have enjoyed it more,” said Vettel.
“Maybe I lost a little bit in the last corner, and maybe I chickened out on the brakes a bit too soon, but it was obviously very close with Valtteri so it was a good job we got enough margin to make it to the front row.”
While Mercedes and Ferrari are in a class of their own, Red Bull — the former champions predicted to make great gains this season — have so far been unable to match their competitors.
Daniel Ricciardo, who retired from his home race in Melbourne, qualified fifth, 1.5 seconds down on Hamilton, while his team-mate Max Verstappen was last but one of the 20 runners after a power problem with his engine.
Fernando Alonso declared that he was "driving like an animal" to haul his uncompetitive Honda-powered McLaren car into the second part of qualifying. He will start 13th.
But there was more misery for Briton's Jolyon Palmer who qualified 18th and was then demoted to the very back after ignoring the yellow flags deployed when new boy Antonio Giovinazzi crashed in his Sauber as he exited the final corner.
