Lewis Hamilton pips Sebastian Vettel to pole position in Malaysia

Nico Rosberg qualified in third as Ferrari's Vettel broke Mercedes domination of the front row, finishing +0.074 seconds behind Hamilton, who stopped the clock at 1:49.834.

World champion Hamilton was wary of the conditions but satisfied with his pole. "You don't want to take too many risks in the wet but you know you need a banker and fortunately I was able to get a really good lap in," said Hamilton.

The Briton, who cruised to victory from the front in the season-opening Australian Grand Prix this month, had to battle through traffic just to make the final cut in the second of the three phases and was rewarded with the 40th pole of his career.

Hamilton resisted all challengers, including Sebastian Vettel, who proved Ferrari's impressive early-season form was no fluke with a solid second place in testing conditions. Four-time champion Vettel, who looks revitalised since joining the Italian outfit from Red Bull at the end of last year, backed up his third-place finish in Australia with a scintillating final lap.

The German not only broke the Mercedes stranglehold in qualifying by beating a disappointed Rosberg, but he also became the first Ferrari driver to sit on the front row since Felipe Massa at the same circuit in 2013.

"It was an interesting qualifying session, the car felt good in both conditions and the car looked good on long runs in practice," said Vettel. "When it rains here - and there's always a chance here - it can mix things up. We know that Mercedes are difficult to beat but that's why everyone turns up and we will see what we can do."

Rosberg, who was accused of stopping Hamilton from making a pass at turn seven, was less than satisfied with his performance, after failing to qualify alongside his Mercedes teammate at the front of the grid.

"I didn't drive well enough, simple as that. Third place is not good enough here and I was surprised by how much grip there was out there, despite the wet."

Rosberg will be joined on the second row by Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo after a tropical downpour early in the second session forced the drivers to wait in the garage for 35 minutes before the track was safe enough to go out again.

Daniil Kvyat will start in fifth place in the other Red Bull with Toro Rosso's 17-year-old Max Verstappen joining the Russian on the third row following another impressive afternoon.

1. Hamilton 2. Vettel 3. Rosberg 4. Ricciardo 5. Kvyat 6. Verstappen 7. Massa 8. Grosjean 9. Bottas 10. Ericsson 11. Raikkonen 12. Maldonado 13. Hulkenberg 14. Perez 15. Sainz 16. Nasr 17. Button 18. Alonso