Defending champion Lewis Hamilton will start the Bahrain Grand Prix from pole position for the first time after clinching his fourth straight pole of the season on Saturday, finishing well ahead of Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel.

The Mercedes driver, who leads the Formula One championship after winning two of three races so far, finished 0.411 seconds ahead of Vettel and 0.558 clear of Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg — who had started the previous two Bahrain GPs from pole position.

Hamilton won last year's Bahrain GP after starting second on the grid, and Rosberg will have his work cut out Sunday to win his first race of a frustrating campaign so far.

Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen qualified in fourth place, confirming the two teams as the dominant cars of the season so far.