The Briton eased his Mercedes across the line 6.2 seconds ahead of Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel, with Max Verstappen, who started 16th, finishing a surprise third for Red Bull.
Hamilton's flying lap of one minute 22.188 seconds set a new record at Albert Park but was only 0.268 seconds in front of German Vettel, offering the tantalising prospect of a competitive championship after three years of domination by the Silver Arrows.
Formula One's 'silly season' of rumour and speculation is heating up.
This year marks the first that two quadruple champions are competing in the same season and their battle to see who joins Argentine legend Juan Manuel Fangio in second place on the all-time list with five titles promises to light up the series.
Lewis Hamilton stormed to pole position at the Brazilian Grand Prix on Saturday with Mercedes team mate and title rival Nico Rosberg joining the triple Formula One world champion on the front row. On a damp and overcast Sao Paulo afternoon, it was the 60th pole of the Briton's career, eight short of Michael Schumacher's record, and his first in Brazil since 2012 when he was at McLaren. With his title on the line, it was also one of Hamilton's most important in a roller-coaster season marked by mechanical setbacks.
Max Verstappen gave himself a perfect 20th birthday present by winning the last Malaysian Grand Prix on Sunday, while Lewis Hamilton stretched his Formula One world championship lead to 34 points.
Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel put himself on pole position to retake the Formula One lead from Lewis Hamilton after setting the fastest lap in qualifying for the Singapore Grand Prix.
Lewis Hamilton has had more success in Shanghai than any other Formula One driver, which makes Sunday's Chinese Grand Prix the ideal location for the triple world champion to end Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg's winning streak. While Rosberg has started the season with a perfect 50 points from two races, and a run of five successive victories dating back to last November, Hamilton is ready to turn the tables. The Briton has won four times in Shanghai and is on for three in a row after last season becoming the only driver to win the race in successive years. "It's not been a smooth start to the season for me, so to be in the championship position I'm in right now is actually pretty positive," said Hamilton, who lies second in the standings after a second and a third place. "Now we go to China for the next battle. It's a track that's been good to me over the years... so hopefully this race can be the turning point." Hamilton has not won since he took his third world championship in Austin, Texas, last October but the 31-year-old has started both races this season on pole position.
Formula One world championship leader Sebastian Vettel won the Bahrain Grand Prix for Ferrari on Sunday in the German's 200th race start.
'I'm so grateful for everyone who helped me be here, to raise the bar and lift the cup'
Lewis Hamilton lapped in a league of his own on Saturday to seize pole position for the title-deciding Abu Dhabi Formula One Grand Prix with Mercedes team mate and championship favourite Nico Rosberg joining him on the front row.
The Mercedes driver's 55th career win was hard-fought and tense, however, with Ferrari's Vettel seizing the lead at the start and in the hunt all the way to the finish as the tyre strategies played out.
Haas, a six-time PGA Tour winner, was scheduled to play in the Genesis Open at the Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades that begins Thursday, but will withdraw to recover at his home in Greenville, South Carolina, his manager said.
Triple world champion Lewis Hamilton produced a moment of Montreal magic on Saturday to put his Mercedes on pole position for the Canadian Grand Prix and equal Ayrton Senna's career haul of 65.
Finnish team mate Kimi Raikkonen, who started on pole for the first time in nine years but lost the lead in the pitstops, made sure of a Ferrari one-two with Hamilton finishing seventh for Mercedes after starting 13th.
Champions Mercedes are chasing a sixth successive double, and Lewis Hamilton his sixth drivers' title, but the task looks tougher than ever.
Sebastian Vettel won a tense Hungarian Grand Prix on Sunday in a Ferrari one-two that stretched his championship lead to 14 points after Mercedes rival Lewis Hamilton sportingly surrendered third place to his teammate.
Alonso's last race victory came in 2013, and he hasn't been on the podium since 2014. For arguably one of the best drivers F1 has ever seen, this is the very definition of a legacy unfulfilled, says Chetan Narula.
Ferrari were the fastest in pre-season testing, raising suspicions that their new SF70H car has closed the chasm between Mercedes and the rest.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Sunday
The clock is ticking for some of Formula One's big name drivers, with world champions and race winners out of contract at the end of the season and a restless young generation eager to take their places.
Ferrari had every hope of winning their home Italian Grand Prix for the first time since 2010 on Sunday and they blew it.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Friday
World champion Hamilton stormed to pole with a record lap of one minute 21.164 seconds at Albert Park, with a gap of more than six-tenths of a second to the second placed Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen.
Team by team prospects for the 2016 Formula One season.
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