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Unstoppable Vettel claims China pole

Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel leads Jenson Button's McLaren back into the pit lane after Saturday's final qualifying session.
Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel leads Jenson Button's McLaren back into the pit lane after Saturday's final qualifying session.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel to head grid for third consecutive race this season
  • Germany's world champion powers past McLaren's Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton
  • Nico Rosberg is fourth but Mercedes teammate Michael Schumacher back in 14th
  • Ferrari struggle again with Fernando Alonso fifth and Felipe Massa sixth

(CNN) -- World champion Sebastian Vettel is on track for a fifth successive Formula One race win after claiming a hat-trick of pole positions for the 2011 season with another dominant display at the Chinese Grand Prix on Saturday.

The German will head the grid on Sunday for the 18th time in his short career having qualified more than 0.7 seconds faster than his closest rivals, the McLaren duo of Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton.

The 23-year-old is seeking to become the first driver to win more than once on the Shanghai circuit, where he triumphed in 2009, as he bids to follow up his victories in Australia and Malaysia.

His Red Bull teammate Mark Webber will start in 18th place after failing to make it past the first session due to more problems with his KERS setup, but Vettel said he would be using the technology to keep ahead of the McLarens.

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"Mark did not have a good day. Already this morning he had some problems and in qualifying it was quite a shame as I think the car is quick enough," Vettel, who won the last two races of 2010 to become the elite motorsport's youngest world champion, told reporters.

"Looking at us our KERS was running and we were using it and we will be using it as well tomorrow from the start."

Button, who is second overall 24 points behind Vettel, used two sets of tires in a bid to close the gap on his rival but the tactic backfired.

"After Q2 I thought it was possible to get pole position. Obviously that was way out of reach but I thought there was an opportunity and I felt that it was better to use both tires in Q3 and get the best out of the car," the 2009 world champion said.

I just tried to increase the chances for the race as that is where it actually counts
--Lewis Hamilton
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"Unfortunately at the end of Q3 I couldn't actually go any quicker. I actually lost time on my last set so we aborted it."

Vettel edges Hamilton in Shanghai practice

Button said the start of the race would be crucial if he is to have any chance of getting past Vettel.

"We don't really know what his pace in the race is going to be like. If he's a second quicker, it's definitely not possible to race with him, whereas if he's four-tenths quicker normally and then we have KERS, it's possible," the Englishman said.

"There's a very short period before turn one, it's going to be very difficult to get past, even with KERS, if Sebastian doesn't run it -- which I'm sure they will. But during the race, I think they're quick anyway. If you look at Malaysia, a lot of the race he didn't use KERS and his pace was still very good."

Button's compatriot Hamilton stuck to one set of tires with a view to gaining an advantage for the actual race.

"The last race showed how important it is to have fresh tires during the race. Obviously we would have a used option if we are doing a three-stop," the 2008 world champion said.

"In the last race I only had two options I could use. I wanted to make sure I had plenty of fresh tires so we are in quite a strong position. I just tried to increase the chances for the race as that is where it actually counts."

Like Red Bull, Mercedes had mixed results with Nico Rosberg doing well to qualify fourth while seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher was back in 14th after failing to reach the final session.

Ferrari also struggled to match the leading pace, with two-time world champion Fernando Alonso fifth and 2008 runner-up Felipe Massa sixth -- both almost 1.5 seconds slower than Vettel.

Red Bull's sister team Toro Rosso had a good day with 21-year-old Spanish driver Jaime Alguersuari in seventh and Swiss teammate Sebastien Buemi, 22, finishing ninth.

Scottish rookie Paul di Resta qualified eighth for Force India while young Russian Vitaly Petrov had to settle for 10th after his Lotus Renault ground to a halt during Q2, meaning he was not allowed to restart.

Meanwhile, Frenchman Sebastien Ogier won the shortened Jordan Rally by the smallest margin in the motorsport's history on Saturday when he edged out Jari-Matti Latvala by just 0.2 seconds.

The Citroen driver moved up to third in the overall standings after claiming victory in the 10.5-kilometer Power Stage, having gone into the concluding leg 0.5 seconds behind his Finnish rival's Ford.

World champion Sebastien Loeb was third to be two points clear of Finland's Mikko Hirvonen, who was fourth in a Ford.