Lewis Hamilton ensured he has the best chance possible of extending his World Championship lead after securing pole position for the Japanese Grand Prix in qualifying on Saturday.
The McLaren driver shot to the top of the timesheet late on with a time of one minute 18.404 seconds on the Fuji Speedway circuit.
But there was disaster for Felipe Massa as the Ferrari driver will start fifth on the grid on Sunday.
Kimi Raikkonen finished second with a time of 1:18.644 while Hamilton's team-mate Heikki Kovalainen took third and Singapore Grand Prix winner Fernando Alonso fourth for Renault.
‘I'm very happy, the team have done a phenomenal job,’ said a delighted Hamilton. ‘We will push forward with the strategy we have tomorrow.’
Massa, who had started from pole in Singapore before a pit-stop blunder ended his chances in the race, could only manage a time of 1:18.874 and faces an uphill challenge to deny Hamilton edging closer to the world championship title.
BMW Sauber's Robert Kubica, who had gone fastest in practice earlier today, will start sixth while Jarno Trulli and Timo Glock gave Toyota a boost in their home race by claiming seventh and eighth respectively.
Toro Rosso pair Sebastien Vettel and Sebastien Bourdais round out the top ten.
After a damp final practice session this morning the circuit was starting to dry out by the start of qualifying.
Areas away from the racing line were still a little wet as Renault's Nelson Piquet became the first driver to set a timed lap, clocking 1:19.286.
Massa went top soon after with a time of 1:18.727 before Hamilton bettered his title rival with his first timed lap when he clocked 1:18.232.
Glock, fastest in second free practice, climbed to the top with a quickest lap of 1:18.138 while Coulthard leapt out of the drop zone to fourth quickest.
Alonso was also in the drop zone but climbed to sixth with his last lap to progress to the second session.
Nick Heidfeld was not so fortunate as the BMW Sauber driver was eliminated in the last seconds while Rubens Barrichello and Honda team-mate Button and Force India's Adrian Sutil and Giancarlo Fisichella also failed to progress.
The Ferraris were the first to emerge from the pits in the second session and Raikkonen set the pace with 1:17.733.
Massa then bettered his team-mate's time by nearly half a second to top the order before Hamilton climbed to second with 1:17.462.
The duo returned to the pit lane shortly after happy with their qualifying time before Coulthard, Piquet, Red Bull's Mark Webber and Williams' Kazuki Nakajima and Nico Rosberg were eliminated.
Glock was first out in the final session and though he was the first to clock a timed lap Raikkonen quickly went fastest with a time of 1:18.890 while Hamilton's first effort saw him go third.
But the English driver then leapt to the top late on and remained there to claim his sixth pole of the season.
‘It is going to be a tough race with Kimi and Fernando also strong,’ added Hamilton.
‘I just try to take the race as it comes. I'm definitely thinking of the world championship.
‘I approach each race as I have throughout the season and I'll just try and score some good points.’
Defending champion Raikkonen, meanwhile, stressed he is just thinking of picking up the points for the team even though mathematically he can still win the championship.
‘I think it a small chance but I try to win races,’ he said. ‘We want to win the championship as a team and we will see what we can do.
‘If we can win it would be nice but if not we will try to get maximum points.’
FIA FORMULA 1 JAPANESE GRAND PRIX
Grid positions after qualifying:
1 L Hamilton Gbr McLaren 1min 18.404secs
2 K Raikkonen Fin Ferrari 1:18.644
3 H Kovalainen Fin McLaren 1:18.821
4 F Alonso Spa Renault 1:18.852
5 F Massa Bra Ferrari 1:18.874
6 R Kubica Pol BMW Sauber 1:18.979
7 J Trulli Ita Toyota 1:19.026
8 T Glock Ger Toyota 1:19.118
9 S Vettel Ger Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:19.638
10 S Bourdais Fra Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:20.167
11 D Coulthard Gbr Red Bull 1:18.187
12 Nelson Piquet Jr Bra Renault 1:18.274
13 Mark Webber Aus Red Bull 1:18.354
14 Kazuki Nakajima Jpn Williams 1:18.594
15 Nico Rosberg Ger Williams 1:18.672
16 Nick Heidfeld Ger BMW Sauber 1:18.835
17 Rubens Barrichello Bra Honda 1:18.882
18 Jenson Button Gbr Honda 1:19.100
19 Adrian Sutil Ger Force India 1:19.163
20 Giancarlo Fisichella Ita Force India 1:19.910
