Nico Rosberg has beaten Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton to pole position for the Japanese Grand Prix by less than a tenth of a second.
Hamilton had been slightly faster on the first runs after struggling in practice, but Rosberg edged him by 0.013 seconds on the very last laps.
It is the 10th time this year that Mercedes have locked out the front row for a race.
The world champion needs to beat his teammate and title rival in Sunday's race to close his 23-point championship deficit, but Hamilton beat Rosberg in Japan after starting second in 2014 and 2015.
Meanwhile, the Ferraris of Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel were third and fourth, ahead of the Red Bull cars of Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo.
Top 10 on the grid:
1. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes)
2. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
3. Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari)
4. Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari)
5. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
6. Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull)
7. Sergio Perez (Force India)
8. Romain Grosjean (Haas)
9. Nico Hulkenberg (Force India)
10. Esteban Gutierrez (Haas)
