It was a record-extending 74th pole for Hamilton, and the first since the season-opener in Australia. It was also the first front-row lock up for Mercedes this season.
Hamilton had a time of 1 minute 17.281 seconds at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, with Bottas less than a tenth of a second slower.
Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel, who trails Hamilton by four points in the drivers' standings after four races, was third.
Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen claimed second place after having dropped to 14th following an early collision.
Ferrari's Vettel had lacked pace on Friday on a slippery track but was 0.361 seconds faster than the second-place Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton — his main title rival — in cool, overcast conditions.
Ricciardo is out of contract at Red Bull at the end of the season and expressed interest in joining teams like Mercedes or Ferrari to help him challenge for the championship.
Hamilton refused to accept that the uncertainty about his future could be the reason behind his recent slump in performance.
Both Ferrari cars were 0.5 seconds faster in qualifying than either Mercedes, a huge gap in F1.
Ferrari driver Kimi Raikkonen was the second quickest in both sessions, and in the afternoon he was only 0.007 behind Hamilton.
World champion Lewis Hamilton could only manage fourth, and will start from ninth on Sunday after incurring a grid penalty.
Raikkonen and Vettel were up front as cooler temperatures and nightfall matched the conditions for Sunday evening's race. Raikkonen's time of 1 minute, 29.8 seconds on the 5.4-kilometer (3.3-mile) desert circuit was a fraction quicker than Vettel's.
World champion Lewis Hamilton must overcome the frustration of being denied victory at the season-opening Australian GP by his own team's careless computer error.
The German becomes the fourth driver to claim 100 podium finishes, joining Hamilton, Michael Schumacher and Alain Prost.
The four drivers behind Hamilton were separated by just over 0.3 second, setting up the promise of an extremely competitive race on Sunday between Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull.
On a bright, clear day, defending world champion Lewis Hamilton completed the 5.303-km Albert Park circuit in 1 minute, 24.026 seconds.
Hamilton and Vettel have something else to vie for this year — a chance to pull even with former Argentine driver Juan Manuel Fangio for second place on the all-time championship list.
After winning three races last year — the first ones since he started in 2013 — Bottas is keen to challenge Hamilton all the way.
The Australian GP next weel will be Vettel's 200th race whereas meanwhile, Hamilton seeks a record-extending 73rd pole and a 63rd GP win.
It was a busy day at the Circuit de Catalunya-Barcelona after snowfall and cold temperatures kept most cars in the garage on Wednesday.
The Finish driver further said that he is not going to hold on his weaknesses and would rather concentrate on spending his energy and focus on performing well on track.
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