Lewis Hamilton takes pole for Mercedes in Mexico

The Briton secured his 59th career pole with a lap of one minute 18.704 seconds, compared to Rosberg's 1:18.958.

The German has a 26-point lead over Hamilton with three races remaining.

"I put it together when it counted in the end...so that gives me a great chance for tomorrow," said Rosberg, who can take the title on Sunday if he wins and Hamilton fails to finish in the top nine.

The Red Bulls of Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo start third and fourth respectively.

"I had a good feeling with the car all weekend, I was getting better and better but it was a shame in Q3 (phase three) I couldn't get the lap together. We have a different strategy for tomorrow," said Verstappen.

Force India's Nico Hulkenberg qualified fifth with Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel sixth and seventh - a disappointment after the team's pace on Friday.

Mexican Sergio Perez, the crowd favourite and one of two home drivers in the race, qualified 12th for Force India.

Compatriot Esteban Gutierrez, in a Haas, starts 17th.

Neither of the McLarens made it through to the final phase of qualifying, with Fernando Alonso 11th and Jenson Button 13th.

Renault's Jolyon Palmer did not take part at all after the team found a crack in his car's chassis after final practice. The Briton will start at the back of the grid.

"It's really frustrating. We could have been fighting for one of our best grid slots of the year," said the rookie, who is fighting Danish team mate Kevin Magnussen for a place at Renault next season.