Felipe Massa believes that he will need to fight off the challenge from both Ferraris to at least maintain third at the Australian Grand Prix.
The Williams driver heads the second row of the grid, ahead of Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen.
However, the Brazilian is expecting fierce competition from his old team as he looks to reach the podium.
Massa told reporters: "Mercedes have been ahead all weekend so we knew that on pure pace we were fighting for the best of the rest.
"Qualifying P3 means that we have done a very good job in getting the most out of the car; especially as the Ferraris looked strong and were pushing us hard.
"It will be a tough battle tomorrow so we need to get the start right and have a good strategy to secure a podium and really start the season on a high note."
Mercedes locked out the front row, with Lewis Hamilton beating Nico Rosberg to pole position.
