SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, Belgium - Championship leader Oscar Piastri took a comfortable pole for Saturday's sprint ahead of Max Verstappen and Lando Norris.
Piastri's lap of 1:40.510 ended up being comfortably quicker than the rest after what had looked set to be a tight fight out in front.
The Australian had nearly been eliminated from Q2 altogether when his name had tumbled down the order in the closing seconds, only to scrape through in 10th.
"Let's go baby," Piastri said on the radio afterwards. "Sorry for the heart attack. That wasn't in the plan."
Piastri will look to make some gains on McLaren teammate and title rival Norris, who finished 0.6 seconds slower. Norris is eight points behind in the championship.
Starting between them will be reigning world champion Verstappen, who had looked set to go quickest in Red Bull's first competitive Formula 1 session without Christian Horner at the helm -- only for Piastri to spoil the headlines with his late effort.
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc claimed fourth for Ferrari, although seven tenths of a second off the pace in a car featuring a much-anticipated upgrade package.
Teammate Lewis Hamilton will start 18th after spinning out late on in Q1.
Haas pair Esteban Ocon and Ollie Bearman were the stars of the session, qualifying either side of sixth-placed Williams of Carlos Sainz.
Pierre Gasly, Isak Hadjar and Gabriele Bortoleto rounded out an unlikely top ten.
Mercedes were the major scalps beyond Hamilton, with Andrea Kimi Antonelli spinning through Stavelot in Q1, ending his participation in qualifying early.
Teammate George Russell did not progress through Q2.
Verstappen's teammate Yuki Tsunoda continued to struggle, qualifying 12th, behind Liam Lawson, the driver he replaced at the Japanese Grand Prix in April.
Saturday's sprint race will take place a few hours before the traditional qualifying session, which sets the grid for Sunday's race.
The weather forecast suggests the rest of the week's schedule will take place in differing levels of rain.