McLaren are poised to dominate the Australian Grand Prix after Lewis Hamilton grabbed pole position ahead of his teammate Jenson Button.
The two home-town hopes, Mark Webber and Daniel Ricciardo, both qualified in the top 10 but Lotus driver Romain Grosjean sprung the biggest surprise.
The Frenchman snatched third place, edging out seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher.
Hamilton was the only driver to dip under the 1minute 25second mark, stopping the clock at 1:24.922.
Webber will start from fifth on the grid, more than half a second off the pace but one spot ahead of his teammate, reigning world champion Sebastian Vettel.
Daniel Ricciardo finished 10th, ahead of teammate Jean-Eric Vergne.
The second qualifying session was brought to a halt after five minutes when dual world champion Fernando Alonso spun unexpectedly as he was about to turn into the first corner.
Alonso’s Ferrari was bogged in gravel and, while he returned to the session, he was eliminated along with his teammate Felipe Massa.
Former world champion Kimi Raikkonen, back in F1 after a two-year break, was a casualty of the first qualifying session when he could manage no better than 18th.
Meanwhile, as expected, the HRT cars of Pedro de la Rosa and Narain Karthikeyan failed to qualify.
The pair finished a second outside the limit for which cars are permitted to start – a time within 107 per cent of the pacesetter’s mark.