Test driver Pedro de la Rosa put McLaren out in front on Friday after the first practice sessions for Sunday's season-opening Australian Grand Prix.
The two drivers are vying for a place alongside Australian Mark Webber at BMW-Williams for next season.
The Scot is looking for a drive after McLaren signed Colombian Juan Pablo Montoya from Williams for 2005.
Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen will join the Mercedes driver on the front row, with championship-leading teammate Sebastian Vettel qualifying third.
Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton saw off a strong Ferrari challenge at the Italian team's home Grand Prix to seal his seventh pole position in a row and 11th in 12 races on Saturday.
A prototype 'halo' head protection device made its Formula One test debut in Spain on Thursday, with Kimi Raikkonen declaring visibility to be 'okay' after lapping with it attached to the cockpit of his Ferrari.
The German driver can celebrate his 50th win for Ferrari on Sunday as the first Formula One driver to score 1,000 points.
Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel, the Briton's closest rival, finished only sixth after an early collision with Red Bull's Max Verstappen left the German fighting back from 19th place.
Nico Rosberg will start his home German Grand Prix on Sunday from pole position after setting the fastest time in qualifying on Saturday.
A decade on from their last driver's title, courtesy of Kimi Raikkonen in 2007, Ferrari emerged from eight days of testing in Spain with the fastest lap times coupled with impressive reliability.
Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton took his 10th pole in 11 races on Saturday with Mercedes team mate Nico Rosberg qualifying second on the Belgian Grand Prix grid.
Lewis Hamilton led a Mercedes 1-2 at the top of the timesheets for the first free practice session at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix on Friday, while McLaren's hopes of a clean start were tempered by reliability issues.
Sebastian Vettel's hopes of vaulting back into the overall Formula One world championship lead were wrecked by a first corner collision on the opening lap of the Singapore Grand Prix.
Formula One championship leader Nico Rosberg stormed to pole position for the Chinese Grand Prix in a mixed Saturday qualifying session for Mercedes, with world champion Lewis Hamilton left at the back of the grid after engine trouble prevented him setting a time.
Ferrari are giving Sebastian Vettel the Michael Schumacher treatment, according to the German's main title rival Lewis Hamilton.
Mexican Sergio Perez and Germany's Nico Hulkenberg are staying at Force India next season, the Formula One team's co-owner Vijay Mallya told Reuters. "I can confirm that both the drivers are signed up for 2017," Mallya said at the British Grand Prix. "They are a fine pair, both absolutely top class. I've never believed in 'pay drivers' where talent or ability is compromised," he added.
Formula One World champion Sebastian Vettel ran away with the Belgian Grand Prix on Sunday to stretch his overall lead to 46 points with eight races remaining.
Force India regained fifth position in the team standings with a double points finish at the Formula One Singapore Grand Prix at the Marina Bay Street Circuit on Sunday.
Lewis Hamilton was made to wait for his fifth Formula One world championship, on Sunday, after the Mercedes driver finished only third in a US Grand Prix won by Ferrari veteran Kimi Raikkonen.
By virtue of this show, Sahara Force India collected six points from the race and consolidate its fourth position at the Constructor's standings with 101 points.
The German, taking his fourth win of the season, took the chequered flag 0.9 seconds ahead of Kimi Raikkonen with Hamilton finishing fourth after sportingly surrendering third place to team mate Valtteri Bottas on the last lap.
Germany's Nico Rosberg romped to his fifth win in a row for Mercedes on Sunday and ended Formula One champion team mate Lewis Hamilton's hopes of a third successive Bahrain Grand Prix victory.
Triple Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton smashed the Bahrain circuit lap record on Saturday to take pole position ahead of Mercedes team mate Nico Rosberg for Sunday's grand prix. The Briton's best lap of one minute 29.493 seconds was the fastest ever at the Sakhir track. Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen qualified third and fourth for the second race of the season.
German Nico Rosberg eased to victory in a chaotic Belgian Formula One Grand Prix on Sunday.
Nico Rosberg stormed to his sixth pole position in a row and denied Mercedes team mate Lewis Hamilton a landmark 50th in Formula One's season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Saturday.
Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg took pole position for his 200th Formula One race after a stunning qualifying lap around Singapore's Marina Bay street circuit on Saturday. The German's best lap of one minute 42.584 seconds left him perfectly placed to retake the championship lead from British team mate Lewis Hamilton under the floodlights on Sunday.
Germany's Nico Rosberg set the fastest time in qualifying on Saturday to seize pole position for the Belgian Formula One Grand Prix.
Singapore Grand Prix promoters have ruled out holding their Formula One race without spectators, casting further uncertainty over the likelihood of the September event going ahead. Formula One plans to start its stalled season in July with races behind closed doors in Austria and Britain due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Lewis Hamilton took a big step towards clinching his fifth Formula One title after putting his Mercedes on pole position at the U.S. Grand Prix on Saturday with Ferrari rival Sebastian Vettel starting fifth.
Formula One championship leader Nico Rosberg chalked up his seventh win in a row at the Russian Grand Prix on Sunday with team mate Lewis Hamilton fighting back from 10th on the grid to seal a Mercedes one-two finish.
Sebastian Vettel cruised to a third straight Singapore Grand Prix victory on Sunday and moved closer to a fourth consecutive Formula One world title with a dominant drive under the floodlights at the Marina Bay Street Circuit.
The Briton lapped the Albert Park circuit in a searing one minute and 21.164 seconds to cross the line 0.664 seconds clear of Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen.
A weekend that began at the top of the timesheets for Max Verstappen ended with the Dutchman out of the points and in a war of words with Ferrari rivals after a nightmare Belgian Formula One Grand Prix.
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