Hamilton, the 2008 world champion, lapped the 3.451-mile circuit in one minute, 40.948 seconds for his fourth pole in the last seven grand prix. The McLaren driver also recorded his 17th career Formula One pole.

"The car has been probably the best it's been all year," Hamilton said. "It seems to feel quite comfortable on this circuit. What they have done here is incredible. I think it's just a real pleasure to drive here."

Hamilton wound up 0.667 seconds quicker than Vettel, who will start on the outside pole.

"Lewis has been strong all weekend and generally McLaren was very strong here, so we could see already in Q1 and Q2 that it would be difficult to match them," Vettel said.

Webber qualified third, followed by Brawn GP teammates Rubens Barrichello and Jenson Button, who clinched the 2009 world championship with a fifth-place finish two weeks ago in the Brazilian Grand Prix. Brawn also won the constructors' title in Brazil.

"The car felt really good, but in Q3, I had massive vibrations," Button said. "Every time I hit the brakes the steering wheel was shuddering. It's a little bit weird. Hopefully we can solve it by the race."

Jarno Trulli from Toyota took the sixth spot, while BMW Sauber teammates Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld grabbed the seventh and eighth positions. Nico Rosberg from Williams and Toro Rosso's Sebastien Buemi completed the top-10.

Kimi Raikkonen will start 11th in his final race with Ferrari, while Fernando Alonso will roll off 16th in his last event for Renault. Alonso will replace Raikkonen at Ferrari next year.