Lewis Hamilton claimed back-to-back Formula One pole positions by qualifying on top yesterday for the Malaysian Grand Prix, heading an all-McLaren front row for successive races.

Hamilton clocked a time of 1 minute 36.219 seconds – a tenth of a second faster than teammate Jenson Button – ahead of today’s race at Sepang International Circuit. It was enough to deliver McLaren’s first-ever Malaysian pole in 14 years of trying.

Mercedes driver Michael Schumacher was third fastest to notch his best qualifying performance since the 2006 Japanese Grand Prix. The German veteran will start on the second row ahead of Red Bull’s Mark Webber.

Lotus’ Kimi Raikkonen qualified fifth but will start from tenth due to a five-place grid penalty for changing his gearbox.

World champion Sebastian Vettel qualified sixth. It was a relatively lowly position for the German, who put his Red Bull on pole 15 times last season, but he completed his final flying lap on hard tires. That will allow him to pit later than the cars ahead of him in today’s race, when tire management will be critical.

Lotus’ Romain Grosjean qualified seventh, ahead of Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg, who was fastest in pre-qualifying practice but chose to forego a final flying lap to preserve tires for today. Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso and Sauber’s Sergio Perez completed the top ten.

Rain held off throughout qualifying but is an ever-present threat at Malaysia and could well affect the race.

Hamilton had a skip in his step as he emerged from the car, in contrast to his post-race demeanor in Australia when he was very disappointed to have finished third after pole – a slip that made him all too aware of the importance of a good start today.

Schumacher came within two tenths of his first pole position for six years but Schumacher was enthused by the progress Mercedes is making.

“This was the maximum that was available,” the seven-time world champion said. “It’s a great achievement. When you think about who is behind us, who would have thought last year?”

Schumacher is a renowned strong starter in races, giving him a good chance of passing the two McLarens in the long drag to the first corner. The Mercedes is the fastest car on the long Sepang straights, but it remains to be seen if the team has cured its problems in Australia when it was unable to convert qualifying speed into race pace.

Vettel’s strategy of qualifying on harder tires will be negated if the tropical rains arrive today and cars switch to wet-weather rubber. But should it stay dry, he could well leapfrog the leaders after the first set of pitstops.

However the German was still frustrated about the lack of grip in the Red Bull.

Ferrari improved marginally on a dire qualifying performance in Australia, and Alonso’s renowned race craft and the possibility of showers will boost the Italian team’s hopes of a good points haul despite its technical deficit in the early part of the season. Felipe Massa qualified 12th.

All 24 cars will start today’s race. The HRT cars just squeezed inside the threshold of being within seven per cent of the best time in the first qualifying session, having failed to do so in Australia.