Kimi Antonelli has put himself in prime position to seal the world title at the United States Grand Prix after taking pole.
The Mercedes driver crossed the line 0.179 seconds ahead of Red Bull's Max Verstappen, with Isack Hadjar in third.
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton were nowhere to be seen after dominating the practice sessions, but finished in fourth and fifth respectively.
Antonelli's teammate George Russell was unable to improve on his final lap and finished in sixth.
In order for Antonelli to take the title in Austin, he would need to win the race, with Russell finishing ninth or lower and Hamilton in fifth or lower.
He did the first part of his job in supreme fashion, delivering a stellar lap to blow away his rivals and underline why he is the champion-in-waiting.
Sunday represents the 20-year-old Antonelli's first shot at clinching the crown but, with a 102-point lead and only 150 left up for grabs ahead of this weekend's tussle at the Circuit of the Americas, it appears merely a matter of when the Italian becomes champion.
Ferrari have not been on pole since Leclerc in Hungary in 2025, while Hamilton's wait for top spot in qualifying extends to that same race two years earlier -- 1,190 days ago.
Hamilton is a five-time winner around the Circuit of the Americas and an upgraded Ferrari appeared to have put him in the mix to end his long wait for a pole position.
Ferrari president John Elkann was watching on from the garage, with pressure on the team to finally deliver in qualifying after a difficult run of races and increased speculation over the future of boss Fred Vasseur.
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But Hamilton, 41, whose sole Ferrari win came in Barcelona in June, and Leclerc were again unable to pull it out of the bag.
Leclerc hit back to lead the way ahead of the final session but Mercedes duo Antonelli and Russell had also come to the fore to suggest the battle for pole would be a tight one.
Antonelli soared to the top of the charts after the first run in Q3 and the Italian's challengers fell by the wayside.
McLaren's Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris qualified seventh and eighth.
Sunday's United States Grand Prix starts at 8 p.m. GMT / 4 p.m. ET.
Information from the Press Association contributed to this report.