Red Bull dominate again

Formula One: Sebastian Vettel feels Red Bull are "well-armed" for a second successive victory at the Chinese Grand Prix after…

Formula One:Sebastian Vettel feels Red Bull are "well-armed" for a second successive victory at the Chinese Grand Prix after the German secured his third pole in four races in qualifying.

The 22-year-old dislodged team-mate Mark Webber with his final lap as the Austrian team once again dominated the session.

A Red Bull car has been on pole at every race so far this season but reliability issues have denied them a potential clean sweep of victories.

Instead it took until the last grand prix in Malaysia for the team to secure their first win of the season, with Vettel easing to victory.

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Rain has been predicted for Sunday's race but Vettel believes there is little that can stop the Red Bulls from climbing the podium again, regardless of the weather.

"It was a fantastic lap, and the fourth consecutive pole position for Red Bull. We are proving we have a very good car regardless of the circuit type. We are always up there," he said.

"I think it will be raining tomorrow, it's just a question of when.

"The question is will it be wet throughout the whole race or after the start? We have good memories of the wet conditions last year and if the rain comes it is best to start at the front because you are the one who sees the best. Dry or wet we should be well-armed for tomorrow."

For Webber it will no doubt leave the Australian wondering what he has to do to outperform his team-mate.

The 33-year-old was on pole for the last race in Malaysia but lost his place to Vettel on the first lap and was denied pole in Shanghai during the last seconds of qualifying.

But Webber was not disappointed with the result and was instead happy to see the team performing so well once again.

"It was a good battle again between both of us," he said. "I am pretty happy with my lap but again big credit to the team as we have locked down the front row again. In the end it is very, very positive for the team."

Ferrari's Fernando Alonso will be hoping he is past recent engine problems after securing third place on the grid for the third time this season.

The two-time world champion is looking to follow up his victory at the season-opener in Bahrain but retired in Malaysia two weeks ago after his engine failed and suffered a similar problem in first practice on Frday.

"Once again this is the maximum of our potential in qualifying," he said.

"On our one-lap performance we always maximise our potential and we did that in Bahrain, Australia and here. We didn't in Malaysia but in normal situations I think this is the maximum for us."

Mercedes' Nico Rosberg starts from fourth as he pursues a first race win while the McLarens of Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton line up fifth and sixth on the grid respectively.

Hamilton had been dominant in the first two phases of qualifying but was unable to find the pace to get the better of the Red Bulls in Q3.

The 2008 champion was at a loss to explain his lack of pace in Q3 and felt he missed out on a golden chance for a place higher up the grid.

"It was unfortunate," said Hamilton. "This is the best I could do in the end as something was not right in Q3. We should have been further up but I will work hard tomorrow."

Seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher qualified ninth and the veteran German will be looking to prove his detractors wrong with a solid race.