Former world champion Damon Hill likened Ferrari's dominant qualifying display in China, where Mercedes was unable to challenge for pole, to "empires rising and falling" in Formula One.
Sebastian Vettel led Ferrari's second front row lockout in as many race weekends, the first time it has achieved that feat since the 2006 season. Vettel won in Bahrain but Mercedes was expected to be closer at the cooler Shanghai circuit where it has traditionally excelled in the V6 turbo era, while its engine setting reserved for qualifying -- dubbed the 'party mode' -- is usually enough to propel the world champions ahead in Q3.