Nico Rosberg has beaten Lewis Hamilton to pole position for the second race running, setting the fastest time in qualifying for this weekend's Brazilian Grand Prix.

As the Mercedes duo headed out for their flying laps, Rosberg appeared to have the edge, posting a lap time three-hundredths of a second faster than his teammate.

The pole position means that Mercedes equal Red Bull's record for most poles by a team in a single season.

Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas showed strong pace early in the qualifying session, as both Williams drivers went faster than Hamilton in Q2.

Massa continued to show strong pace at his home race, but a mistake on his final lap meant that he had to settle for third, while the Finn came in fourth.

Ferrari's Fernando Alonso struggled for pace in Q1 after his ERS system failed to charge, but he recovered to make it into the top 10, eventually finishing eighth.

1. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes)
2. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
3. Felipe Massa (Williams)
4. Valtteri Bottas (Williams)
5. Jenson Button (McLaren)
6. Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull)
7. Kevin Magnussen (McLaren)
8. Fernando Alonso (Ferrari)
9. Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull)
10. Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari)
11. Esteban Gutierrez (Sauber)
12. Nico Hulkenberg (Force India)
13. Adrian Sutil (Force India)
14. Daniil Kvyat (Toro Rosso)
15. Romain Grosjean (Lotus)
16. Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso)
17. Sergio Perez (Force India)
18. Pastor Maldonado (Lotus)