Four-time world champion Max Verstappen smashed the track record to snatch pole position for Sunday's Japanese Grand Prix ahead of McLaren's Lando Norris, as Yuki Tsunoda qualified a lowly 15th in his Red Bull debut.
Verstappen clocked a blistering lap of 1min 26.983sec in his Red Bull, 0.012sec ahead of early championship leader Norris, with the other McLaren of Oscar Piastri third.
Verstappen has struggled with his car this season and the McLarens dominated all three practice sessions at Suzuka.
But Verstappen delivered in his final lap in Saturday qualifying, pipping Norris right at the death.
"If you look at how our season started, even during this weekend, it's very unexpected," the Dutchman said of his first pole position of 2025.
"I think that makes it a very special one."
Verstappen is still looking for his first race victory of the campaign, having finished second in Australia and fourth in China.
He has won in Japan for the past three seasons but he was cautious about reading too much into his latest qualifying heroics.
"I don't say, 'oh I'm first now, everything is perfect'," said the Dutchman.
"We still have clear issues that we need to solve. That's what we are continuing to work on."
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc was fourth ahead of Mercedes duo George Russell and Kimi Antonelli, with RB's Isack Hadjar seventh.
Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton was eighth, followed by Williams's Alex Albon and Haas's Oliver Bearman.
The McLarens have started the season in rampant form, with Norris winning the opener in Melbourne and Piastri leading him in a one-two finish in Shanghai.
Norris said the team would "do our homework tonight" to try and break Verstappen's Suzuka stranglehold.
"It's probably going to be a bit of a race like Melbourne, and that was an exciting race for everyone," said the Briton.
"But now I've got to try and do some overtakes, so we'll see. It's exciting."
- Tsunoda eliminated in Q2 -
Tsunoda was eliminated in Q2 in a disappointing first qualifying drive for Red Bull after being promoted in place of Liam Lawson last week.
The Japanese driver finished one place behind Lawson, who returned to RB after just two races for Red Bull in a ruthless driver swap.
"I had pace in FP3 (third practice) so I didn't expect it to be like this, how it ended up today, so it's a shame," Tsunoda told Sky Sports.
"But one positive is that I started to understand the car. This car is quite difficult to operate properly, it's quite narrow compared to the RB, but I feel quite confident in the car."
Alpine's Pierre Gasly, Williams's Carlos Sainz and Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso were eliminated in Q2 along with Lawson and Tsunoda.
Sauber pair Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto, Haas's Esteban Ocon, Alpine's Jack Doohan and Aston Martin's Lance Stroll were all eliminated in Q1.
Qualifying was suspended for about eight minutes in Q2 when a small trackside fire broke out as sparks from the cars ignited the grass in the dry conditions.
It was the fifth such incident of the weekend, with the second and third practice sessions also disrupted by small fires.
Rain has been forecast for Sunday's race, adding an extra layer of intrigue.
Verstappen said his battle with the two McLarens will be "very hard".
"So far this season we have ...
