Joy for pole-sitter Lewis Hamilton but ignominy for Jenson Button and history-making of the wrong sort for McLaren. Both their cars, Button in one, Kevin Magnussen in the other, will be on the back row of the grid for the Australian Grand Prix. Their participation ended with the doom-laden radio transmission to Button, a three-time winner here at Albert Park: ‘We have leapfrogged Magnussen, but unfortunately we are one-tenth short of Ericsson (of Sauber) and out.’ In the McLaren garage, chairman Ron Dennis watched on, wearing headphones, his neck extended, his face impassive. Lewis Hamilton celebrates his pole lap as he waves to the crowd at the Albert Park Circuit. He qualified ahead of team-mate Nico Rosberg and Williams driver Felipe Massa . Lewis Hamilton gives his thumbs up to the crowd after sticking his Mercedes on pole in Melbourne . Lewis Hamilton was fastest in qualifying and will start on pole for tomorrow's Australian Grand Prix . Lewis Hamilton celebrates his brilliant pole . 1. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:26.327 . 2. Nico Rosberg  Mercedes 1:26.921 . 3. Felipe Massa  Williams 1:27.718 . 4. Sebastian Vettel  Ferrari 1:27.757 . 5. Kimi Raikkonen  Ferrari 1:27.790 . 6. Valtteri Bottas  Williams 1:28.087 . 7. Daniel Ricciardo  Red Bull 1:28.329 . 8. Carlos Sainz Toro Rosso 1:28.510 . 9. Romain Grosjean Lotus  1:28.560 . 10. Pastor Maldonado  Lotus 1:29.480 . - - - - - - - - - - . 11. Felipe Nasr  Sauber 1:28.800 . 12. Max Verstappen  Toro Rosso  1:28.868 . 13. Daniil Kvyat Red Bull  1:29.070 . 14. Nico Hulkenberg Force India 1:29.208 . 15. Sergio Perez Force India 1:29.209 . - - - - - - - - - - . 16. Marcus Ericsson Sauber  1:31.376 . 17. Jenson Button McLaren 1:31.422 . 18. Kevin Magnussen  McLaren 1:32.037 . McLaren were six seconds off Mercedes, who took pole through a lightning quick Hamilton, virtually six-tenths – a.k.a. an age – ahead of team-mate Nico Rosberg. Felipe Massa, of Williams, was third. It has been estimated that McLaren could be 250 brake horsepower (the equivalent of the Honda Civic Type R) short of the Mercedes. So much for McLaren's new partnership with Honda. So much for the rebuilding that was promised when Dennis sacked Martin Whitmarsh as team principal to take on the chief executive’s role himself. Dennis has inched ever more involved in the team, having originally promised to detach himself and leave the day-to-day management to Eric Boullier, the sporting director. The formula is not working even at their annual outlay of a mighty £200million. Jenson Button will start Sunday's Australian Grand Prix from 17th after a miserable qualifying session . Button leaves the pit-lane with his McLaren team well off the pace at the first race of the season . McLaren will start from the very back of the pack; they were some six seconds slower than the Mercedes . Re-live every moment of an incident-packed qualifying session in Melbourne . You have to wonder whether Fernando Alonso, who is missing this race after being concussed in a testing accident last month, will want to return for Malaysia a fortnight hence. A sick note from the doctor might suit him nicely. Until, let’s say, Monza. By that race in September, Mercedes may nearly, or actually, have wrapped up the constructors’ title. Their dominance is so immense that Hamilton was 1.4sec ahead of Massa’s Williams. Hamilton, securing his fourth pole on the track where he made his debut eight years ago, said: ‘It has been a great start to the weekend. It does not feel like a long time since the last race. 'It has been a huge effort by the guys back at the factory so I feel incredibly blessed. It is so much fun in qualifying and I am massively grateful for all the hard work of the team.' Four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel, on his Ferrari debut, qualified fourth in Melbourne . Nico Hulkenberg, in his Force India, takes a trip across the gravel. He will start 14th tomorrow . Hamilton ran wide on his very first lap of the afternoon, but recovered to secure pole in Melbourne . Hamilton, who started on pole  here in Melbourne in 2014, but retired with an engine problem, added: 'We had a difficult start to the season last year, so we a really hoping for a better start for both cars to succeed tomorrow. We are going to work as hard as we can, and it will be a good fight with Nico.' Rosberg had to abort his first flying lap after running wide, but recovered to complete a Mercedes front-row lockout. He said: 'The story was Lewis was in impressive form and he did an awesome job. 'For me, the speed was there but I did not get it together. I am realy thankfulf for the team and the car they have given me. P2, I will live with for now, but it is a long day tomorrow.' Of the dominant Mercedes pair, third-placed Massa said: 'They are in a different category'. An ariel view of the Albert Park Circuit in Melbourne which plays hosts to the season-opening race . Massa finished third in qualifying and claimed Mercedes are 'in a different category' McLaren would not have been at the very back had Manor not sat qualifying out. The team will not race either. Their supposed rebirth from the ashes of Marussia is danger of turning into a bad joke. Button, however, believes this year's McLaren is essentially good, saying: ‘I was always thinking long term when I re-signed. I really do think that in the end we can challenge Mercedes at the front. This a new package, not just in terms of the engine but the philosophy behind it, the aerodynamics and airflow. ‘I’d rather not be at the back of the grid, but I am not sitting here downbeat. It is a tough time now and there will be tough times for many weeks, but it will make us stronger. ‘We have not done a race distance yet. So if we finish the race tomorrow it may not sound much, but it will help a lot.’ Max Verstappen, the youngest qualifier in Formula One history at 17 years and 165 days, qualified 12th. He had ‘a big moment’ squirming wide at turn five and that left him four places behind Toro Rosso team-mate Carlos Sainz Jnr. Red Bull were disappointingly slow, with Daniil Kvyat only 13th and Daniel Ricciardo seventh. Sparks fly from the bottom of Max Verstappen's Toro Rosso... the 17-year-old will start 12th on Sunday .
Lewis Hamilton will start Sunday's Australian Grand Prix on pole . The world champion was a mighty 0.6sec quicker than rival Nico Rosberg . Felipe Massa is third on the grid with Sebastian Vettel 4th in his Ferrari . But McLaren endured a nightmare Down Under, with Jenson Button and Kevin Magnussen propping up the grid on a bad day for the British team .