Merc's Rosberg pips teammate Hamilton for pole position in final practice at Bahrain GP

Mercedes racer Nico Rosberg has edged out his teammate Lewis Hamilton for pole position at the final practice run for the Bahrain Grand Prix, maintaining the Brackley-based team's top slot in the race for the crown.

The Briton lost his chance to take pole from Rosberg when he made a mistake on his final qualifying lap by locking a front tyre and running wide going into Turn One, making it the first time that he had been beaten to pole this season.

According to the BBC, although Hamilton was fastest in all three practice sessions but come qualifying, Rosberg seemed to have the edge, setting the fastest times in the first and second knock-out parts and on the first runs in the top 10 shoot-out.

Meanwhile, Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo took third 0.866 seconds behind Hamilton, while Williams' Valtteri Bottas was fourth ahead of Force India's Sergio Perez, Kimi Raikkonen's Ferrari and McLaren's Jenson Button.

The report mentioned that the second Williams driver, Felipe Massa was eighth and Button's teammate Kevin Magnussen was ninth, ahead of Ferrari's Fernando Alonso, who was out-qualified by Raikkonen for the first time this year.