Valtteri Bottas fended off team-mate Lewis Hamilton in a tight battle for pole position at the Chinese Grand Prix as Mercedes out-paced Ferrari.

Bottas, the quicker Mercedes driver all weekend in Shanghai, found his advantage cut by Hamilton to just 0.023 seconds as the world champion finally found pace.

Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel was third fastest, 0.301secs off the pace, and just 0.017secs quicker than team-mate Charles Leclerc.

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Pierre Gasly took fifth and sixth places.

Red Bull looked to have a chance to challenge the Ferraris after the first runs, when Verstappen split Vettel and Leclerc, but a misjudgment meant neither car made it around to start the final laps before the chequered flag fell.