Red Bull's Max Verstappen took a stunning first pole position in five months at the Qatar Grand Prix on Saturday while McLaren dealt Ferrari another blow in the Formula One constructors' title battle by qualifying ahead of their rivals.
.gif)
The newly crowned four-times world champion ended the session under investigation by stewards, however, after a near-miss with Mercedes' George Russell who qualified alongside on the front row at the Lusail circuit.
Russell almost went into the rear of the slower Red Bull in an incident he described as 'super-dangerous' over the team radio.
McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri qualified third and fourth respectively after taking maximum points from the sprint to send the team 30 points clear.
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc will start fifth with teammate Carlos Sainz seventh.
CONSTRUCTORS' TITLE ON THE LINE
McLaren can clinch their first constructors' title in 26 years on Sunday, with one round to spare, if results go their way.
Verstappen secured his fourth successive world title in Las Vegas last Saturday and the Qatar pole -- in a time of one minute 20.520 seconds -- in the final seconds.
It was his first since Austria at the end of June and ninth of the year.
"That was amazing, the turnaround. Great job guys," Verstappen said over the radio after crossing the line 0.055 quicker than Russell, who had looked like repeating his Las Vegas pole.
"I didn't expect this," the Dutchman said later, having finished only eighth in the sprint with a lack of balance and grip.
"We changed a bit on the car, but I never thought it would make such a swing in performance, so that's promising. I hope it lasts tomorrow in the race.
"It just felt a lot more stable over one lap and that's exactly what we need."
Team boss Christian Horner said Red Bull had changed "pretty much everything we could change" to put the car in a better performance window.
Seven-times world champion Lewis Hamilton qualified sixth for Mercedes, 0.436 of a second off Russell's time, with Fernando Alonso eighth for Aston Martin and Verstappen's struggling teammate Sergio Perez ninth.
Kevin Magnussen completed the top 10 on the grid for Haas, who are fighting a midfield battle for sixth place with Renault-owned Alpine and Red Bull's RB.
Piastri had led Norris in the sprint after swapping places within sight of the finish as payback for the Australian gifting victory to the Briton in Brazil to help his drivers' championship chances.
"Not the position we were hoping for after yesterday and today but the maximum we could do," Norris, who made a mistake at turn five on his first effort in the final phase, said of his grid position for Sunday.
"The lap was pretty good. I was pretty happy with it but just not quick enough compared to the others.
"I don’t think we are as quick as the Mercedes, and Red Bull showed how much they improved since yesterday, so plenty of opportunity for everyone."
"It was a surprise for us to be so close to McLaren but a surprise that Red Bull and Mercedes were so strong," said Leclerc.
Sainz was summoned to the stewards after the session for an unsafe release from the Ferrari garage into Hamilton's path, with the team fined 5,000 euros ($5,287).