2008 Chinese Grand Prix - Hamilton takes Pole, Kimi 2nd

McLaren's Lewis Hamilton moves one step closer to clinch his maiden Driver's Championship as he grab pole position for the 2008 Chinese Grand Prix on Saturday, 18th October, 2008 in Shanghai. Hamilton put a brilliant performance to clinch the 13th pole position of his Formula One career with a lap of 1m 36.303s. Ferrari drivers Raikkonen and Massa will start from 2nd and 3rd respectively on Sunday's Race Day.

Hamilton leading the championship by just 5 points to closest rival Massa of Ferrari and 12 points to BMW's Robert Kubica, who finished 11th. Hamilton have to finish six points better off than Massa to become the F1's youngest world champion.

Renault's Alonso qulaify fourth followed by Mclaren's Heikki Kovalainen. Red Bull's Mark Webber initially qualified sixth, but he will drop to 16th due to a 10-place grid penalty incurred after an engine change.

That means Heidfeld is sixth in his BMW Sauber, with the Toro Rosso duo of Sebastian Vettel and Sebastien Bourdais seventh and ninth, sandwiching Toyota's Jarno Trulli, with Renault's Nelson Piquet climbing into the top 10.

Toyota's Timo Glock will start 12th, with Rubens Barrichello 13th for Honda, the Brazilian's highest placing for 10 races, with Nico Rosberg 14th for Williams. The Force India duo of Adrian Sutil and Giancarlo Fisichella again occupy the back row for the eighth time this season.