Max Verstappen pulled off a near-perfect lap of the Suzuka circuit to snatch pole position for Sunday's Japanese Grand Prix from McLaren's Lando Norris.
The four-time champion driver beat Norris to the top spot by 0.012 seconds with a last-gasp effort that defied this season's formbook and, at times, seemed to defy the laws of physics.
"I am [surprised]," Verstappen said after the session. "We tried the best we could to get the best possible balance for the car but it wasn't easy even in qualifying, but in every session we just kept on making little improvements.
"I think that's where we made the difference and the last lap was just flat out, I mean around here being on the limit and maybe even a bit over it at places is incredibly rewarding."
Suzuka is considered the ultimate driver's circuit in Formula 1, and Verstappen's lap helped his ongoing claim to be considered the ultimate driver on the current F1 grid.
Verstappen matched Norris' first and second sectors before finding the fraction of a second he needed to secure pole in the final sector.
Championship leader Norris will start second, ahead of teammate Oscar Piastri, and said he got "everything out of the car" on his second attempt in Q3.
"Congrats to Max," he said." He did a good job. Hats off as you have to credit when he did a lap that good. I am happy. Max did an amazing lap. For us both to be up there fighting for pole is good, but not enough.
"My lap was very good. I feel like if I was to go again I wouldn't be quicker. We were on the limit," Norris added.
This year's Red Bull is notoriously difficult to drive on the limit, which was underlined by Verstappen's new teammate, Yuki Tsunoda, qualifying 15th.
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc will start fourth after beating the two Mercedes of George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli in fifth and sixth.
Racing Bulls rookie Isack Hadjar secured seventh on the grid with an impressive performance ahead of his childhood hero Lewis Hamilton in eighth for Ferrari. Carlos Sainz was handed a three-place grid drop for impeding Hamilton at the start of his flying lap.
Alex Albon and Oliver Bearman rounded out the top ten for Williams and Haas respectively.
After making the switch to from Racing Bulls to Red Bull ahead of this weekend, home hero Tsunoda struggled to pull together a clean lap in Q2 and was knocked out of qualifying before the top-ten shootout in Q3.
The man he replaced at Red Bull, Liam Lawson, outqualified Tsunoda on his return to Racing Bulls, although neither driver will be overly pleased with their performances down in 14th and 15th on the grid.
Tsunoda appeared to encounter traffic on his second Q2 lap and failed to improve on his Q1 time on either of his attempts.
Lawson was 0.094 seconds faster than Tsunoda in what should be a slower car, but was still 0.376 seconds off the Q2 time of his Racing Bulls teammate Hadjar. Tsunoda, who was 0.024 seconds off Verstappen in Q1, was 0.498 seconds off his new Red Bull teammate when it mattered in Q2.
Alpine's Pierre Gasly will start 11th after missing out on a place in the top ten by 0.039 seconds. Carlos Sainz was 12th for Williams ahead of Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso in 13th.
Midway through Q2 the session was suspended with a red flag after a grass fire broke out on the inside of the exit of 130R. It was the fifth time this weekend trackside grass caught fire during a session, following similar incidents in second practice and final practice.
Sparks from the titanium skidblocks on the underside of the cars are believed to be the cause of the fires, igniting the large areas of dry grass at the side of the track.
The FIA tried to pre-empt the issue ahead of qualifying by watering the trackside grass, but it only took 30 minutes of running for the fire to break out and suspend the session. Qualifying resumed after marshals entered the track to extinguish the flames.
Forecasted rain for Sunday's race may save Formula 1 from the embarrassment of repeat incidents during the race.
Nico Hulkenberg missed out on a place in Q2 by 0.016 seconds and will start in 16th alongside Sauber teammate Gabriel Bortoleto, who was just 0.052 seconds slower. Esteban Ocon was 18th for Haas ahead of Jack Doohan, who returned to the track on Saturday after a huge accident at Turn 1 in second practice on Friday.
Aston Martin's Lance Stroll will start in last place after running wide at the top of the Esses. The Canadian found himself off the racing line and took to the gravel before rejoining the track in the Dunlop corner.