Nico Rosberg takes pole position in Abu Dhabi

Mercedes have been virtually bullet-proof over the past two seasons there were hardly any surprises.  And it was all too familiar a story that played out on Saturday with the famed Silver Arrows team locking out the front row yet again.

Leading the line was Nico Rosberg, who will start ahead of teammate Lewis Hamilton for the seventh edition of the Formula One Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on the morrow.

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The German, despite using an old engine on his W06, whipped up a blistering lap around the 5.554km Yas Marina Circuit, in the final seconds, to seize pole position ahead of Hamilton.

Rosberg was the fastest man on track with a time of 1:40.237 seconds in Q3, nearly four tenths of a second clear ahead of his British teammate. It was his sixth successive pole this season, putting him just behind the legendary Ayrton Senna's all-time record of eight.

It was also his seventh this year and the 23rd of his career. His pole positions this season have come in Barcelona, Suzuka, Sochi, Austin, Mexico and Interlagos in Brazil.

It was his second pole in Abu Dhabi and he now eyes a hat trick of wins after victories at Mexico and Brazil. The 30-year-old is also gunning a sixth race victory this season, heading into race day on Sunday. Rosberg has won in Spain, Monaco and Austria.

Rosberg had earlier topped the timesheets in the third practice to get the better of his teammate over two practice sessions and qualifying. Rosberg was quickest in Friday's second practice after Hamilton had topped the first. Hamilton couldn't muster a quicker lap than Rosberg in the final segment of Q3 despite being fastest in Q1 and Q2. Hamilton finished with a timing of 1:40.614 seconds, 0.377 seconds adrift of Rosberg.

Ferrari had a mixed day at qualifying with one making it to the front of the grid and the other missing out. Kimi Raikkonen nailed a brilliant lap in the final seconds to qualify third. The 'Flying Finn,' a winner here in 2012, set a time of 1:41.051 seconds.

Raikkonen is involved in a battle for fourth in the Drivers' standings with compatriot Valtteri Bottas of Williams.

Raikkonen's German teammate Sebastian Vettel surprisingly couldn't make it out of Q1 and will line up 16th on the grid after not going through with his final flying lap. Vettel though is still capable of overturning that disadvantage after blazing his way through the field here in 2012 to finish third. Another surprise was Sergio Perez. The Sahara Force India driver, strong all weekend, qualified fourth after just about missing out to Raikkonen for P3. 'Checo' logged a time of 1:41.184 seconds.

Red Bull Racing's Daniel Ricciardo qualified P5, while Valtteri Bottas was sixth. Sahara Force India's Nico Hulkenberg was seventh, while Williams' Felipe Massa qualified eighth. Red Bull Racing's Daniil Kvyat was ninth, while Scuderia Toro Rosso's Carlos Sainz rounded off the top 10.

Along with Vettel, McLaren-Honda's Fernando Alonso, who gave way to the German at Ferrari, also failed to make it through from Q1. The Spaniard had suffered a left-rear puncture. Fifteen drivers got through from Q1, with another five being eliminated after Q2, leaving 10 for the final shoot out in Q3. ­- james@khaleejtimes.com

STARTING GRID

1. Nico Rosberg (Ger) Mercedes

2. Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) Mercedes

3. Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari

4. Sergio Perez (Mex) Force India-Mercedes

5. Daniel Ricciardo (Aus) RedBull-Renault

6. Valtteri Bottas (Fin) Williams-Mercedes

7. Nico Huelkenberg (Ger) Force India-Mercedes

8. Felipe Massa (Bra) Williams-Mercedes

9. Daniil Kvyat (Rus) RedBull-Renault

10. Carlos Sainz Jr (Spn) Toro Rosso-Renault

11. Max Verstappen (Nld) Toro Rosso-Renault

12. Jenson Button (Gbr) McLaren

13. Pastor Maldonado (Ven) Lotus-Mercedes

14. Felipe Nasr (Bra) Sauber-Ferrari

15. Romain Grosjean (Fra) Lotus-Mercedes

16. Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Ferrari

17. Fernando Alonso (Spn) McLaren

18. Marcus Ericsson (Swe) Sauber-Ferrari

19. Will Stevens (Gbr) Marussia-Ferrari

20. Roberto Merhi (Spn) Marussia-Ferrari

QUALIFYING TIMES

1. Nico Rosberg (Germany) Mercedes 1:40.237

2. Lewis Hamilton (Britain) Mercedes 1:40.614

3. Kimi Raikkonen (Finland) Ferrari 1:41.051

4. Sergio Perez (Mexico) Force India - Mercedes 1:41.184

5. Daniel Ricciardo (Australia) RedBull - Renault 1:41.444

6. Valtteri Bottas (Finland) Williams-Mercedes 1:41.656

7. Nico Huelkenberg (Germany) Force India - Mercedes 1:41.686

8. Felipe Massa (Brazil) Williams-Mercedes 1:41.759

9. Daniil Kvyat (Russia) RedBull - Renault 1:41.933

10. Carlos Sainz Jr (Spain) Toro Rosso - Renault 1:42.708

11. Max Verstappen (Netherlands) Toro Rosso - Renault 1:42.521

12. Jenson Button (Britain) McLaren 1:42.668

13. Pastor Maldonado (Venezuela) Lotus - Mercedes 1:42.807

14. Felipe Nasr (Brazil) Sauber - Ferrari 1:43.614

15. Romain Grosjean (France) Lotus - Mercedes

16. Sebastian Vettel (Germany) Ferrari 1:42.941

17. Fernando Alonso (Spain) McLaren 1:43.187

18. Marcus Ericsson (Sweden) Sauber - Ferrari 1:43.838

19. Will Stevens (Britain) Marussia - Ferrari 1:46.297

20. Roberto Merhi (Spain) Marussia - Ferrari 1:47.434

(1-10: third and final qualifying session 11-15: second qualifying session 16-20: first qualifying session)