Oscar Piastri says he is "pumped to be on pole" as the McLaren driver topped qualifying for Sunday's Chinese Grand Prix.
The Australian, who has previously topped sprint qualifying on two occasions, will start a grand prix at the front of the grid for the first time in his career.
Piastri, who spun out of last weekend's opener in Melbourne, made it two poles in as many races for McLaren this season, as he edged out George Russell by 0.082 seconds.
"In Q3, I just found a lot of pace," the 23-year-old said. "In Q1 and Q2, I was genuinely struggling, but the car just came alive in Q3 and I came alive.
"I'm happy with what I did in the end. The laps were still a bit scruffy, but I'm just pumped to be on pole. It's a lot of fun. With the new surface, it's extremely grippy which, for us, is the best feeling in the world.
"The only thing that comes with that is, if you lose grip, it bites, and you’ve probably seen a lot of snaps and a lot of moments this weekend; with the surface we've got, it's pretty tricky.
"When you hook it up, it feels pretty mega, so I will take the fastest lap of Shanghai."
Meanwhile, Russell took advantage of an aborted final run by Lando Norris to prevent a second successive McLaren one-two in qualifying, with the Australian Grand Prix winner finishing 0.152 seconds slower than Piastri.
"It was incredible, to be honest; one of the hardest [qualifying] sessions in a long, long time," the Mercedes driver said.
"I was trying all sorts with my preparation, the tyres, nothing seemed to be clicking. I did something totally different on the last lap. It all came alive. The last lap was awesome. [I'm] so happy to be P2.
"I had a big moment in Turn One, but it all came together. I knew it was a good lap, but to be in between the two McLarens, I'm buzzing and looking forward to tomorrow.
"It's going to be tough, the medium tyres in the sprint were difficult. I think most drivers will start on [those]; no-one's ran on the hard tyres. We don't know if it will be a one or two-stop race, but we know the McLarens will be quick."