Hertfordshire's Lewis Hamilton will start tomorrow's Bahrain Grand Prix from ninth on the grid.
The 2008 world champion from Stevenage was fourth fastest in qualifying, but was handed a five place grid penalty for changing his gearbox in this morning's practice session.
Hamilton's Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg starts from pole position ahead of reigning world champion Sebastien Vettel.
Lewis Hamilton secured his second successive podium finish after coming third in the Chinese Grand Prix.
The Mercedes driver had started the race in pole position, but eventually lost out to Ferrari's Fernando Alonso and Lotus' Kimi Raikkonen.
Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel finished fourth. Storming through the field from ninth. Team mate Mark Webber did not finish.
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton grabbed his first pole position for the Brackley-based team since joining them at the start of the year.
Hamilton head the grid for the start of tomorrow's Chinese Grand Prix at the Shanghai International Circuit.
Hamilton puts Silverstone disappointment behind him to carry Olympic torch through Luton
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Lewis Hamilton was in in pole position for the Olympic torch relay this morning.
The Formula One star was the first to pick up the flame on its leg from Luton to Oxford on the 52nd day of its journey to the London Games.
Hamilton missed out on carrying the golden torch through his home town of Stevenage on Sunday, because he was competing in the British Grand Prix at Silverstone.
Afterwards he joked that he would have liked to have carried it yesterday after all, following a disappointing eighth-place finish which leaves him fourth in the championship.
Stevenage born Lewis Hamilton has been stripped of pole position for today’s Spanish Grand Prix and demoted to the back of the grid – after effectively running out of fuel during qualifying.
He had completed his triumphant lap and was midway through a ‘slow-down’ lap when his McLaren team ordered him to stop because of a ‘technical problem’.
The car was found to have just 1.3 litres of petrol after it was hoisted back to the pits – insufficient for it to have completed the lap and then to have provided a mandatory one-litre fuel sample.
Stevenage born Lewis Hamilton snatched his third pole position of the season for tomorrow's Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona.
But it wasn't all plain sailing for the McClaren star, as he was forced to stop his car on the track on the way back to the pits.Hamilton took top spot at the Circuit de Catalunya, from surprise front rower Pastor Maldonado, by just 0.6secs.
Hamilton's session ended with him stopping on track, but that did not detract from his obvious delight in clinching his 22nd pole in F1.
Hamilton's McClaren teammate, Jenson Button will start from11th on the grid with Red Bull's Mark Webber directly behind him.
Stevenage's Lewis Hamilton could only manage fourth on the grid after the first practice ahead of Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix.
His McLaren team mate Jenson Button is currently on pole.
