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Ferrari's Vettel sets lap record and take pole position for Chinese Grand Prix

SHANGHAI – Ferrari made Formula One rivals sit up and take notice after an ominous show of speed in qualifying for Sunday's Chinese Grand Prix. World championship leader Sebastian Vettel took pole position with a lap more than half a second faster than that of Valtteri Bottas, the fastest of the two Mercedes drivers in third place. The German's best time of one minute, 31.095 seconds – a Shanghai circuit record – turned up the heat on a chilly afternoon with Finnish team mate Kimi Raikkonen joining him on the front row. "We thought coming into today that we would be fighting for the pole position," said Bottas, whose reigning champion team mate Lewis Hamilton qualified fourth after aborting his final flying lap. "But it was definitely out of reach today, there was nothing in the lap that we could have gained that much." "I don't know if we can challenge, we're half a second behind today," added Hamilton. "We were quicker in the race in the last race (Bahrain) but they (Ferrari) were able to hold on. They will probably do the same tomorrow." Dominant isn't a word that has been used to describe Ferrari since they chalked up five straight drivers' titles and six consecutive constructors' crowns with Michael Schumacher, but they were imperious on Saturday. The front row lockout was their second in a row after Vettel beat Raikkonen to pole last weekend in Bahrain. "Ferrari were just way too quick," said Red Bull's Max Verstappen, who was fifth fastest but a hefty 0.701 seconds off Vettel's pace. "Somehow they've found a turbo button on the straight because they are really quick and still in the corners they are reasonably quick." Verstappen's Red Bull teammate Daniel Ricciardo added, "Ferrari has had really good pace all weekend and I can't say honestly now that we're going to have their pace tomorrow, but Mercedes definitely look within reach." Ferrari's speed had already stunned rivals after Friday's opening day of practice pointed to a close battle, even if Hamilton was top of the timesheets. With temperatures plunging on Saturday, the scarlet cars seemed to come into their own. Vettel, who holds a 17-point lead over Mercedes rival Lewis Hamilton after winning in Australia and Bahrain, is looking good for a hat-trick. No driver has ever won the season's first three races without being crowned champion that year, and the last Ferrari driver to do it was Schumacher in 2004 when he was at the peak of his powers and won the opening five.

2015 Brazilian Grand Prix is the same as it ever was

At this point, we hope Nico Rosberg is planning to carry his current qualifying form into the 2016 season and back it up with the same kind of race-day cojones he showed winning the race in Mexico City two weeks ago. The Mercedes-AMG Petronas driver got it right enough again on Saturday afternoon to take his fifth consecutive pole position ahead of teammate Lewis Hamilton by almost a tenth of a second. It's the same one-two from Brazil last year. The bad news for the rest of the field is that the winner in Brazil the last seven years has been one of the two drivers on the front row. Last year it was the Williams duo that lined up behind Mercedes, this year it's Ferrari. Sebastian Vettel plays the stalking horse, securing third in his Ferrari ahead of teammate Kimi Raikkonen in fourth. Williams driver Valtteri Bottas actually qualified in fourth, but he had to serve a three-spot grid penalty for passing under red flags in Free Practice 2, so he started sixth. That promoted Sahara Force India driver Nico Hulkenberg up to fifth. Daniil Kvyat was the quickest representative from Infiniti Red Bull Racing, getting into seventh even with a Renault power unit that's weak on some of the key stretches at the Interlagos track. Felipe Massa had the second Williams in eighth, in front of the second Red Bull driven by Daniel Ricciardo in ninth. Toro Rosso hasn't confirmed its drivers for next year but Max Verstappen keeps making it hard to look elsewhere, taking 10th. Rosberg is working nearly the same trick he pulled last year: drive like a second driver for most of the year, drive like a world champion for the last quarter of a season. He pulled away at the start and covered Hamilton just enough on the run to the first corner to keep Hamilton on the outside. By the end of Turn 1 the German had the lead and didn't give it up for the rest of the race outside of pit stops. Without overwhelming pace to pass and unable to follow closely, Hamilton could do nothing except ask his team for a different strategy to go for the win. When Mercedes told him "No," trying to protect Rosberg's second place in the championship ahead of Vettel, that was the race. Just like last year, Rosberg and Hamilton finished one-two. Vettel, Raikkonen, Bottas, Hulkenberg, and Kvyat drove lonely races to finish in positions three through seven.

Mercedes previews new S-Class convertible

Mercedes keeps on expanding its flagship S-Class with more models, and will soon add one more to the roster. But before it does, it's giving us this teaser of what's to come with an advanced look at the upcoming new S-Class Cabriolet. The convertible model will be based closely on the S-Class Coupe we already know, only with a folding roof. Expect that dropping top to be constructed of several layers of fabric (as opposed to a folding metal top) with a glass rear window (instead of plastic) to keep it luxuriously isolated and insulated from the outside world when it's up, and let the wind and sunshine in when down. The Cabrio will bring the array of body-styles in the S-Class range up to six, with the convertible joining the existing coupe and four wheelbase lengths of sedan. Expect powertrain options to closely mirror those of the coupe, including S550, S63, and eventual S65 AMG models driving the rear wheels or all four. Slotting in above the E-Class Cabriolet, the new convertible S-Class will be Daimler's "first luxury four seater cabriolet since 1971." It'll compete in rather rare company against the likes of the Bentley Continental GTC, Aston Martin DB9 Volante, Maserati GranTurismo Convertible, and even the upcoming new Rolls-Royce Dawn when it arrives. And judging from the timing of this preview rendering's release, we anticipate it'll arrive soon. Related Video: