Max Verstappen edged out title rival Lando Norris as Ferrari's Carlos Sainz claimed pole position at the Mexico Grand Prix.
Norris trails Verstappen by 57 points in the drivers' championship with five races remaining and 146 points up for grabs and needs to start making major inroads into the Dutchman's advantage.
McLaren failed in their bid to overturn Norris' controversial penalty which demoted him behind Verstappen in Austin last weekend - a result the British driver labelled a "momentum killer" in his pursuit of a maiden title.
And those hopes suffered a further blow as Norris could only finish third in qualifying for Sunday's 71-lap race, a place behind his title rival and over three-tenths off the pace of pole-sitter Sainz.
Norris topped the first two sessions of qualifying but had no answer to the blistering lap of the Spaniard, with his Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc taking fourth on the grid.
Norris said: "I am happy with third. Carlos and Max did good laps.
"There are question marks (over race pace) for all of us. Ferrari have been very strong in race pace over the last couple of races. It is going to be tough, but we are in a good position so looking forward to it."
Verstappen has won five of the last six Grands Prix in Mexico and is bidding for a fourth win in a row at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez on Sunday.
The Red Bull driver endured a difficult run-up to qualifying, suffering from engine issues which limited his running on Friday before complaining of a lack of grip in final practice.
But the Dutchman will be delighted to have pulled it together for qualifying and will hope to keep Norris at bay on the lengthy 768-metre blast down to turn one.
Verstappen added: "We were playing catch-up so I was under a lot of pressure to have a good qualifying.
"Very happy to be on the front row. I honestly did not think that was possible."
George Russell will line up fifth for Mercedes, a place clear of team-mate Lewis Hamilton.
Norris will not have support from team-mate Oscar Piastri after the Australian suffered a dramatic dip in form - being knocked out in the first part of qualifying having been fastest in final practice just hours earlier.
In a blow to McLaren's constructors' title bid, Piastri qualified only 17th and was joined in a Q1 elimination by Verstappen's team-mate Sergio Perez.
The Mexican, who admitted on Thursday he had endured a "terrible season", disappointed his raucous home support by finishing a lowly 18th as pressure intensifies on his Red Bull future.
McLaren lead Red Bull by 40 points, with Ferrari only a further eight points adrift.
