Michael Schumacher, who has not been seen in public since he suffered serious head injuries in a ski accident in 2013, beat former commercial supremo Bernie Ecclestone with 61 per cent of the vote in a head-to-head final.
The Briton's Finnish team mate Valtteri Bottas will line up alongside on the front row of the starting grid with Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel behind them.
Rosberg and triple world champion Lewis Hamilton shared testing duties on Tuesday, with the Briton taking over in the afternoon for a race simulation. Together, they did 169 laps without a hitch
Images from the Russian F1 Grand Prix in Sochi on Sunday
Mercedes opened their Formula One season by dominating practice at the Australian Grand Prix on Friday, with Nico Rosberg edging his world champion team mate Lewis Hamilton in both sessions at Albert Park.
Rain and crashes twice halted the potentially title-deciding Brazilian Formula One Grand Prix on Sunday with the crowd booing and triple world champion Lewis Hamilton disagreeing with officials.
Monaco's Leclerc, who had started on pole position for the first time, lost power with 10 laps to go while leading and finished third with an extra point for the fastest lap.
That was only the 12th time that a driver had started that low and won.
Lewis Hamilton had his first taste on Friday of the Mercedes car that he hopes will make him Britain's first four-times Formula One world champion this season.
The 35-year-old Williams driver, who won 11 races for Ferrari between 2006 and 2008 and finished overall runner-up to Lewis Hamilton in the 2008 world championship, is out of contract at the end of the year.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine was condemned by the sporting community on Thursday, with President Vladimir Putin's country losing hosting rights for the UEFA Champions League final while Formula One drivers said it was "wrong" to race there this year.
Vettel, now 17 points behind the Briton after starting eight ahead, led from pole position until rain caused chaos in the closing laps, with the German skidding into the barriers in front of his home fans.
Red Bull, drivers' and constructors' champions for four years in a row from 2010, have fallen out with underperforming Renault and are casting around for a replacement engine provider with Ferrari their only real option given Honda's woes.
'I'm the first one to say we shouldn't be speaking bad about things on TV, but I think the new qualifying format is pretty rubbish'
Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel was fastest in Formula One's pre-season testing at a chilly Circuit de Catalunya on Tuesday while Mercedes rival Lewis Hamilton took one for the team and "sacrificed" his scheduled stint.
Factbox on Dutch driver Max Verstappen, who became Formula One's youngest race winner, aged 18, at the Spanish Grand Prix on Sunday.
Media reports suggested the McLaren driver, whose wife is Japanese, was likely to announce at this weekend's Japanese Grand Prix that he would be leaving Formula One at the end of the year.
Even in adversity, with Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton romping to five wins in a row and a 24-point lead in the Formula One championship, Nico Rosberg can see the funny side of the situation.
Force India's Sergio Perez refused to rule out a move to Ferrari on Thursday, even though he denied any contact with the Italian Formula One team and said the rumours about his future reflected his form.
Formula One stewards rejected on Friday a Red Bull protest against a new steering system used by champions Mercedes in practice for the season-opening Austrian Grand Prix.
Valtteri Bottas ended his year-long drought with a dominant victory in Turkey on Sunday while unhappy Mercedes team mate Lewis Hamilton finished fifth and lost the Formula One championship lead to Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Williams provided a first glimpse of their new Formula One car with a confident prediction that it would be good enough to move the former champions back up the grid after a dire 2013 campaign.
Formula One drivers have backed proposals to introduce a 'virtual safety car' or automatic speed limiter that would force the entire field to slow when yellow warning flags are waved.
Seven-times world champion Lewis Hamilton became the first Formula One driver to take 100 pole positions after lapping fastest for Mercedes in Spanish Grand Prix qualifying on Saturday.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Thursday
'In Lando and Daniel we have a hugely talented and exciting driver line-up, and this announcement is a strong signal of commitment to the next chapter for McLaren from 2022 onwards.'
The most successful current racer, in terms of wins if not titles, Hamilton can also equal seven-times world champion Michael Schumacher's all-time record of 68 pole positions at Spa on Saturday.
Aseel Al-Hamad declared the start of a new era for Saudi women in motorsport on Sunday as she prepared to drive a Formula One car around the French Grand Prix circuit in front of thousands of fans.
Hamilton, the sport's only Black driver and its most successful racer, has used his platform and profile increasingly to push for equal opportunities and speak out against racial injustice.
Mercedes could appeal against Max Verstappen's Formula One championship victory despite stewards dismissing the team's post-race protests on Sunday.
The win was the third of the Finn's career and season, denying Hamilton a 10th of the campaign.
Red Bull's Max Verstappen won a chaotic and crash-halted Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola on Sunday with Lewis Hamilton second for Mercedes and retaining the lead in the championship by a single point.
'I do stand unified with them, trying to do what I can over here'
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.
New boy Vettel plays down Ferrari hopes in Melbourne.
Ferrari's Brazilian Felipe Massa won the Brazilian GP but Lewis Hamilton, who finished fifth after last lap drama, took the world title, ending the 18-race season one point clear of Massa.
Formula One's clampdown on radio communications between engineers and drivers has made the sport more dangerous, triple world champion Lewis Hamilton said on Sunday.
Lewis Hamilton aims to stay in F1 for at least three more years
Canadian Lance Stroll celebrated an astonishing first Formula One pole position for Racing Point in a crazy weather-hit Turkish Grand Prix qualifying on Saturday.
Nico Rosberg won a dramatic Australian Grand Prix on Sunday after a bungled tyre strategy dashed Sebastian Vettel's chances of a season-opening triumph and Fernando Alonso survived a spectacular crash that left his McLaren wrecked.
