Finland's Valtteri Bottas took his first Formula One pole position at the Bahrain Grand Prix on Saturday to end Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton's bid for a seventh in a row.
Triple world champion Hamilton qualified alongside, a mere 0.023 slower than Bottas's lap of one minute 28.769 seconds, to secure the first front row lockout of the season for the reigning champions.
Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel, joint leader of the world championship standings with Hamilton after two races, will start in third place with Red Bull's Australian Daniel Ricciardo fourth.
Mercedes, which won the race last year with now-retired champion Nico Rosberg, has taken five successive poles at the desert Sakhir circuit.
BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX QUALIFYING
1. Valtteri Bottas (Finland) Mercedes
2. Lewis Hamilton (Britain) Mercedes
3. Sebastian Vettel (Germany) Ferrari
4. Daniel Ricciardo (Australia) Red Bull – TAG Heuer
5. Kimi Raikkonen (Finland) Ferrari
6. Max Verstappen (Netherlands) Red Bull – TAG Heuer
7. Nico Huelkenberg (Germany) Renault
8. Felipe Massa (Brazil) Williams-Mercedes
9. Romain Grosjean (France) Haas – Ferrari
10. Jolyon Palmer (Britain) Renault
11. Daniil Kvyat (Russia) Toro Rosso – Renault
12. Lance Stroll (Canada) Williams-Mercedes
13. Pascal Wehrlein (Germany) Sauber – Ferrari
14. Esteban Ocon (France) Force India – Mercedes
15. Fernando Alonso (Spain) McLaren
16. Carlos Sainz Jr (Spain) Toro Rosso – Renault
17. Stoffel Vandoorne (Belgium) McLaren
18. Sergio Perez (Mexico) Force India – Mercedes
19. Marcus Ericsson (Sweden) Sauber – Ferrari
20. Kevin Magnussen (Denmark) Haas – Ferrari