Chinese Grand Prix 2016: Lewis Hamilton to start last as Nico Rosberg holds off Ferrari to seal pole

Rosberg starts ahead of Daniel Ricciardo and Kimi Raikkonen but Hamilton didn't set a lap time after an issue with his Mercedes engine

Lewis Hamilton will start last after failing to set a lap time in qualifying (Getty)

Lewis Hamilton's troubled start to the defence of his Formula One championship crown took another turn for the worse on Saturday after a car problem prevented him from posting a qualifying lap to leave him last on the grid for the Chinese Grand Prix.

Hamilton, who was already due to serve a five-place grid penalty after a gearbox change for the third round of the championship, encountered more troubles with his Mercedes in qualifying.

The 31-year-old Briton, yet to win this season, took to the Shanghai International Circuit for the opening phase of qualifying but soon returned to his garage reporting a lack of power from his engine.

His Mercedes mechanics were unable to resolve the problem, and Hamilton was knocked out in last position after he failed to set a time.

Hamilton's demise paved the way for championship leader Nico Rosberg to claim his first pole of the season, and he duly delivered with a lap of one minute and 35.402 seconds.

Nico Rosberg celebrates taking pole for the Chinese Grand Prix (Getty)

Kimi Raikkonen had led a Ferrari one-two in practice on Friday, but the Finn, who made a mistake on his final timed run, could manage only third, while Sebastian Vettel will start from fourth.

Indeed it was the Red Bull of Daniel Ricciardo who split Rosberg and the Ferrari pair and he will start alongside the Mercedes driver on the front row.

"Sorry that the other car didn't make it," Rosberg said over the team radio, but it was hard to believe him. The German is now the firm favourite to claim his third victory of the season and sixth in a row on Sunday.

Nico Rosberg will start on pole ahead of Daniel Ricciardo (left) and Kimi Raikkonen (right) (Getty)

Hamilton now faces an almost impossible task of stopping Rosberg from building on his 17-point lead.

"As soon as I went out (I knew there was a problem)," Hamilton, a winner here in each of the past two seasons, said.

"Of course it's unfortunate, but these things are sent to try us and the best thing I can do is to try and learn from it.

"I'm sure the guys are just as gutted as I am, but we win and we lose together, so it's really a case of trying to figure out the issue and make sure that it doesn't happen again to either of our cars.

"I'll give it everything I've got to try and get up. It isn't over until it's over."

The sport reverted to last year's qualifying format after the unpopular elimination-style system was dropped following two unsuccessful outings.

And Hamilton's failure to post a time delivered the unpredictability which the previous format had so craved.

A red flag - the second of the afternoon after Pascal Wehrlein spun in the opening minutes of a damp start following this morning's rain - brought an abrupt end to the second phase of qualifying.

Mercedes non-executive chairman Niki Lauda takes a selfie with Nico Rosberg (Getty)

Nico Hulkenberg was left with just three tyres on his Force India after his front-left wheel worked its way off before bouncing along the barrier.

It meant the McLaren duo of Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button were unable to improve on their times and they will start 12th and 13th respectively.

"Nooo, aaah," Alonso, making his return to the cockpit after he was sidelined in Bahrain with a rib injury, said over the team radio upon being informed of the news.

Valtteri Bottas qualified fifth for Williams with Red Bull's Daniil Kvyat sixth. Britain's Jolyon Palmer, whose Renault team-mate Kevin Magnussen was nearly one second faster, will start only 19th.

Rosberg added: "To get the lap done and to put it on pole, I am happy of course, but I am not ecstatic because Lewis had bad luck and his car broke down and the fight didn't take place."

Raikkonen, who will start from third, said: "In the last one I was quite a bit up on that lap and I just ran wide on the hairpin and I lost a lot of time.

"It is a shame as we had a chance to be on the top today but that is how it goes and we will try to make the most of it tomorrow."

Final positions after Qualifying:

1 Nico Rosberg (Ger) Mercedes GP 1min 35.402secs

2 Daniel Ricciardo (Aus) Red Bull 1:35.917

3 Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 1:35.972

4 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Ferrari 1:36.246

5 Valtteri Bottas (Fin) Williams 1:36.296

6 Daniil Kvyat (Rus) Red Bull 1:36.399

7 Sergio Perez (Mex) Force India 1:36.865

8 Carlos Sainz (Spa) Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:36.881

9 Max Verstappen (Ned) Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:37.194

10 Nico Hulkenberg (Ger) Force India No Time

11 Felipe Massa (Bra) Williams 1:37.347

12 Fernando Alonso (Spa) McLaren 1:38.826

13 Jenson Button (Gbr) McLaren 1:39.093

14 Romain Grosjean (Fra) Haas F1 1:39.830

15 Marcus Ericsson (Swe) Sauber-Ferrari 1:40.742

16 Felipe Nasr (Bra) Sauber-Ferrari 1:42.430

17 Kevin Magnussen (Den) Renault 1:38.673

18 Esteban Gutierrez (Mex) Haas F1 1:38.770

19 Jolyon Palmer (Gbr) Renault 1:39.528

20 Rio Haryanto (Ina) Manor Racing 1:40.264

21 Pascal Wehrlein (Ger) Manor Racing No Time

22 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) Mercedes GP No Time

PA