Lewis Hamilton makes it 4/4 after taking pole at Australia, Malaysia, China and Bahrain to grab his first ever pole in Sakhir. He was four tenths clear of Sebastian Vettel, who split the Mercedes and will start in front row beside Hamilton.

Qualifying started in a terrible manner for unlucky Jenson Button, who stopped his car for the third time this weekend, and parked his car at Turn 3 following mechanical issues (he will start at the end of the grid).

Contrary to Jenson, team-mate Fernando Alonso produced a super lap to get him into Q2 for the first time this season and confirm McLaren progress. Out in Q1 were Pastor Maldonado, Daniil Kvyat, Will Stevens, Roberto Merhi and Jenson.

It was another spaniard, Carlos Sainz, who also produced a good lap and bumped Sergio Perez into the drop zone at the end of Q2. Also out were Felipe Nasr, Marcus Ericsson, Fernando Alonso and Max Verstappen. Also in Q2, Lewis Hamilton produced a stunning lap to find 1.2 seconds more than Rosberg and cause awe in the paddock.

During the Q3 shootout, first attempts kept most drivers within range, with Lewis Hamilton on provisional pole. The second and most important times then placed Vettel on provisional pole, Rosberg then failed to improve on Seb, and Hamilton improved his personal best to secure a record pole for him.

Qualifying top ten:
1. Lewis Hamilton — 1:32.571
2. Sebastian Vettel — +0.411
3. Nico Rosberg — +0.558
4. Kimi Raikkonen — +0.656
5. Valtteri Bottas — +0.810
6. Felipe Massa — +1.173
7. Daniel Ricciardo — +1.261
8. Nico Hulkenberg — +1.879
9. Carlos Sainz — +1.891
10. Romain Grosjean — +1.913