Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas has taken pole position for the 2019 Chinese grand prix.

By a mere 0.0023 Bottas bested teammate Lewis Hamilton and in the process ensure a front row lock out for Mercedes in Formula 1’s 1000th race event.

Sebastian Vettel put his Ferrari in third, some three tenths adrift, and ahead of teammate Charles Leclerc in fourth. Leclerc, who scored his first podium finish in Bahrain, was merely ten milliseconds off Vettel but still bemoaned the fact that he “messed up” his final run in Q3.

Elsewhere, neither Red Bull driver was able to improve on their first run in Q3 as both Verstappen and Gasly missed out on crossing the finish line in time. As it stands Verstappen will start fifth with teammate Gasly alongside in sixth. Daniel Ricciardo got the better of his Renault teammate Nico Hulkenberg and the pair will line up seventh and eighth for the Chinese grand prix.

Similar to Red Bull neither Haas too tripped over themselves and failed to make the finish in time to set a laptime. Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean will start the race in ninth and tenth respectively.

Daniil Kvyat in the Toro Rosso is the first driver, in eleventh, with free tyre choice. Kimi Raikkonen, who reported a loss of power on the straits, will start thirteenth in the Alfa Romeo. The Finn’s failure to advance to the top ten shootout breaks a run of 53 races in the top ten.

Alex Albon is likely to start the Chinese grand prix after a hefty crash in Free Practice Three saw the Toro Rosso driver unable to partake in the qualifying session.