A power failure means Lewis Hamilton will start last at the Chinese Grand Prix on Sunday, while Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg took pole.

As Formula One returned to last year's qualifying process, after heavy criticism of the new method in Australia and Bahrain, double defending champion Hamilton failed to post a time in Q1 due to the power issue.

A wet Q1 had been red flagged and delayed for around 20 minutes after Manor's Pascal Wehrlein spun off and when the action resumed Hamilton was unable to record a competitive lap.

Hamilton, who had taken pole in each of the first two races of 2016, was forced to watch on as Rosberg sealed his place at the front of the grid, with Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo to start second.

The Ferrari duo of Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel will start third and fourth respectively, although both will be disappointed not to be on the front row.

After Rosberg posted his time, the pair were still out on the track and in contention to usurp the championship leader, but both made errors on the penultimate corner of their flying laps and were forced to settle for the second row.

Williams' Valtteri Bottas was fifth, while Ricciardo's Red Bull team-mate Daniil Kvyat will start sixth.

PROVISIONAL CLASSIFICATION

1. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) 1:35.402
2. Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull) 1:35.917
3. Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari) 1:35.972
4. Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari) 1:36.246
5. Valtteri Bottas (Williams) 1:36.296
6. Daniil Kvyat (Red Bull) 1:36.399
7. Sergio Perez (Force India) 1:36.865
8. Carlos Sainz Jr (Toro Rosso) 1:36.881
9. Max Verstappen (Toro Rosso) 1:37.194
10. Nico Hulkenberg (Force India) No time