Shanghai Grand Prix qualifying: Rosberg poles, Hamilton to start from back of grid

Top three qualifying F1 drivers: 1 - Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg of Germany (center), 2 - Red Bull driver Daniel Ricciardo of Australia (left) and 3 - Ferrari driver Kimi Raikkonen of Finland attend a press conference at the Formula One Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai April 16, 2015.[Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Rosberg's teammate, reigning world champion and defending champion of the Chinese GP Lewis Hamilton got the bottom after technical issues prevented him setting a time.

Rosberg used soft tires to set his third fastest time of 1m 36.240s while Raikkonen and his Ferrari team mate, fourth ranked Sebastian Vettel, used supersofts in Q2.

In the second run of Q3, Rosberg finished a searing lap of 1m 35.402s while Raikkonen made a mistake at the hairpin to come up short.