Lando Norris "had faith" that McLaren were quick and was rewarded with pole position for the Singapore Grand Prix. (Motorsport News)
The Brit was quickest in a dramatic qualifying session, crossing the line 0.203 seconds quicker than Red Bull's Max Verstappen, who will start in second.
After tough practice sessions, Mercedes pair Lewis Hamilton and George Russell improved on their performances to finish third and fourth respectively, with Oscar Piastri in fifth.
The times came from a one-lap shootout after Carlos Sainz forced the third session to be stopped as he crashed into the barriers on the final corner of his first lap.]
And Ferrari's day got worse as Charles Leclerc had his lap time deleted for a track limits breach at turn two.
Norris admitted it was a tough qualification session but was pleased to come out on top as he attempts to close the gap to Verstappen in the divers' championship.
"It was tough, especially through qualifying. I was finding it a little difficult to progress much and gain a lot of lap time," Norris said.
"And all of the guys around seemed to get quicker and quicker, so it put me under a bit more pressure, especially with just one lap at the end.
"I had faith we were quick, so I didn't have to over-push and I could just do what I've been doing the whole weekend.
"It was good enough for pole, and I'm happy with that, especially here in Singapore. A good feeling. I've felt good all weekend, I've felt confident, maybe not so much in qualy but we got the job done."
Asked how he felt about the one-lap shootout, he added: "I like it. It gets your heart rate going and it's good fun. My lap wasn't as good as my lap previous to the red flag, so there's always just that little bit more in it.
"But the car's been feeling good and when you have a good feeling car, and you're confident, you can go out and push and get the lap time, so I did the job I had to do today and excited to see what we can do tomorrow."
Verstappen struggled in the second practice session, finishing 15th on the timesheet, but he improved on Saturday to ensure he would start on the front row with Norris.
The Dutchman had been unhappy with his car’s performance on Friday but was feeling more optimistic about his chances on Sunday after qualifying.
"The whole of qualifying went quite well. We managed to improve the car run after run," Verstappen said.
"I'm happy to be on the front row if you look at where we came from yesterday.
"Q3 was tough. Your lap gets, of course, cancelled with the double-waved yellow, then everyone only has one run to do the lap, so you don't want to overdo it. You want to stay within the limit. I'll take second - I'm happy with that.
"Tomorrow is a bit difficult to say. In Singapore, a lot of things can happen, but at least we have a shot at it like this."
Qualifying results
1. Lando Norris (McLaren)
2. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
3. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
4. George Russell (Mercedes)
5. Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
6. Nico Hulkenberg (Haas)
7. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
8. Yuki Tsunoda (RB)
9. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
10. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)
