Red Bull dominated Sunday's qualifying for the Japanese Grand Prix with Sebastian Vettel taking pole position ahead of his team-mate Mark Webber, dpa reported.
The qualifying session had to be held on Sunday, just a few hours before the race, after torrential downpours on Saturday made conditions too dangerous for the drivers.
In bright sunshine Vettel dominated the qualifying and is considered favourite for the race later Sunday.
The German, who is fourth in the drivers' standing 21 points behind Webber, posted a time of one minute 30.785 seconds for the 5.807 kilometre-long lap on the Suzuka course, edging Webber by 0.068 seconds.
Lewis Hamilton in a McLaren had the third-fastest time but will start from eighth on the grid due to a five-place penalty for changing his gearbox on Saturday.
The second row on the grid thus belongs to Robert Kubica in a Renault and Ferrari's Fernando Alonso, while defending champion Jenson Button in the second McLaren and Nico Rosberg in a Mercedes will start from fifth and sixth respectively.
Vettel said he was feeling positive about the race. "I am positive. We are here to enjoy and I think I will have a nice race this afternoon. The car is very fast, so it should be good.
"For the championship it is important that I finish ahead of all the other contenders.
"Friday was a good day for us to get into the rhythm and after the horrible weather on Saturday, we did not know what to expect. I was thinking of a wet track, but obviously the sun was very strong so the track was dry.
"The car feels fantastic. All in all, a good start to the day, but the race is to come," Vettel said.
The Australian Webber said that he was looking forward to the race. "Obviously it is a pretty dense programme today with the important part still to come, but I am looking forward to it.
"Today is another chance to put some good points on the board, but when you are racing there is also the chance to lose. I've also had some races where I have got nothing out of them, so I am hoping that I can have a good race.
"I had a good battle with Sebastian. The car looked pretty quick in qualifying, so starting from the front row is not a bad way to start the day," he said.
Rubens Barrichello in a Williams will start alongside Hamilton from the fourth row on the grid.
The final two top-ten places went to Williams' Nico Hulkenberg and Michael Schumacher in a Mercedes.
Hamilton, who has been battling an ear-infection, said that he has not enjoyed a good weekend. "It has been one of the worst weekend we have had so far. It feels like it all went wrong on one weekend. The gearbox change was a bit frustrating for us, but I am happy that I went out and did a good job during qualifying.
"Starting from eighth, I will see what I can do."
The Briton said that it would be very tough to win the race. "We want to win every race, but the sun is out and the Red Bulls are half a second faster than the other cars.
"For me I am going to have to do everything I can to get out from where I am. It is going to be very tough, but anything is possible."
Ferrari's Felipe Massa, who failed to post a time in the qualifying for the last Grand Prix in Singapore again disappointed as he crashed out of the running in the second session and will start from the 12th position on the grid.
"I took quite a bit of traffic and that kept me from going through. I am sure I would have been competitive otherwise," the Brazilian said.
With four of 19 season races remaining, Webber tops the drivers' ranking with 202 points, ahead of Alonso (191), Hamilton (182) and Vettel (181).