Kimi Antonelli has blasted to pole position for the United States Grand Prix on a weekend when he could claim his place as Formula One's youngest world champion.
The 20-year-old Italian turned the tables on Ferrari as the Scuderia, who had led the way for all three practice sessions, again fell flat when it came to the crunch on Sunday AEST.
Antonelli pipped Max Verstappen, winner of the past two races, to first spot on the grid by 0.179 seconds, with Isack Hadjar third in the second Red Bull.
Australia's Oscar Piastri and his McLaren teammate Lando Norris managed seventh and eighth respectively.
For Antonelli to claim the crown in the Lone Star State is a tall order; he would need to win Monday's race (AEST) and hope that George Russell finishes lower than ninth and Lewis Hamilton lower than fifth.
But 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.
Russell struggled and will line up sixth, while Charles Leclerc and Hamilton managed only fourth and fifth as Ferrari's pace disappeared when it mattered.
The race represents 20-year-old Antonelli's first shot at clinching the crown, but with a 102-point lead and only a maximum 150 left up for grabs, 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 team principal Fred Vasseur.
This weekend could be bigger than Texas for Kimi Antonelli if he can clinch the world title. (Getty Images: Clive Mason)
But Hamilton, 41, whose sole Ferrari win came in Barcelona in June, and Leclerc were again unable to pull it out of the bag.
Meanwhile, both Williams were among the stragglers knocked out in Q1 as their miserable season continued, with Alex Albon fuming "what a s***show".
Norris topped Q1 but McLaren chief executive Zak Brown told Sky Sports that Ferrari were "in a league of their own".
Leclerc hit back to lead Q2 but 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.
AAP/PA