Rosberg on pole in China, Hamilton at the back

Formula One championship leader Nico Rosberg stormed to pole position for the Chinese Grand Prix in a mixed qualifying session for Mercedes, with world champion Lewis Hamilton left at the back of the grid after engine trouble prevented him setting a time. The German put in a one minute 35.402 second lap to seize a 23rd career pole and first of the season as qualifying reverted back to the 2015 formula following complaints from the teams about a new system used in the two opening races. Despite the chopping and changing in formats, Sunday's race will be the ninth straight a Mercedes has started from the front. That put the German, who last started on pole in the 2015 season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, over half-a-second clear of Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo, who was a surprise second. But despite the margin of his dominance, it was a day of contrasts for the Mercedes as Hamilton ran into engine problems in the opening phase of qualifying. The Briton, already carrying a five-place grid penalty for a change of gearbox, complained of a lack of power from his Mercedes engine. Though he did go out near the end of the 18-minute session, the problem was too severe and forced him back...