mercedes chinese gp shanghai f1
Lewis Hamilton wins pole at Chinese GP Reuters

The 2014 Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix is Sunday, April 20, at 2:30 am EDT. For race fans out there that will not have access to NBC Sports when the lights go out, be sure to catch the live stream online by signing up for NBC Sports LiveExtra here.

Shanghai, China, is the fourth Grand Prix of the season and Mercedes' fourth consecutive pole as ace driver Lewis Hamilton dominated a wet qualifying session to set a new record for pole positions by a British racing driver. The Mercedes is in a league of its own and Hamilton was very quick all weekend. However, Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg only managed to qualify fourth. Who stands in the way between what should have been a Mercedes first-row lock out?

During testing two months ago, Red Bull Racing could barely push itself around a track due to immense technical challenges. By China, it is evident that the reigning world champions are prepared to bring the fight to the Mercedes team. Red Bull's new Aussie driver Daniel Ricciardo is now the new fan favorite as he outqualifies teammate Sebastian Vettel with a 1:54.455. The 4-time world champion qualified third, but was more than half a second behind at 1:54.960.

Nico Rosberg struggled on Saturday and will have to start the Chinese GP at fourth on the grid. Rosberg intended to pull one final Banzai lap to move up in quali but ultimately lost control and spun at the final corner of his hot lap.

Red Bull isn't the only team with newfound pace as Ferrari's Fernando Alonso moves up to fifth on the grid. Williams' Felipe Massa and teammate Valtteri Bottas, Force India's Nico Hulkenberg, Toro Rosso's Jean Eric Vergne, and Lotus-Renault's Romain Grosjean round out the top ten qualifying times. Unfortunately, the desperate McLaren team continues to struggle as Jenson Button and Kevin Magnussen will start twelfth and fifteenth, respectively.

The 2014 Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix is Sunday, April 20, at 2:30 am EDT. For race fans out there that will not have access to NBC Sports when the lights go out, be sure to catch the live stream online by signing up for NBC Sports LiveExtra here.