Max Verstappen took pole for Saturday's sprint race at the US Grand Prix by the barest of margins, beating out George Russell by just 12 thousandths of a second.
Lando Norris, challenging the Dutchman for the drivers' title this season, could only go fourth fastest as Verstappen struck a huge psychological blow.
Oscar Piastri fell victim to track limits at the Circuit of the Americas in the first part of sprint qualifying on Friday, getting dumped out of the session at the first opportunity.
Sergio Perez followed the McLaren out in SQ2, albeit simply for lack of pace rather than due to any track limits issues.