Sebastian Vettel comfortably claimed his 10th pole position of the season after setting a blistering lap in qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix at Monza.
The reigning world champion, who holds a commanding points lead in the race for this year's title, posted a fastest lap of 1 minute 22.275 seconds in the top-10 shootout.
Lewis Hamilton was almost half-a-second adrift in second place, while his McLaren team-mate Jenson Button will start the race from third.
Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso grabbed fourth place in front of the Italian tifosi, with Mark Webber completing the top five after setting a lap that was nearly seven tenths slower than team-mate Vettel.
Felipe Massa rounded out the third row ahead of Vitaly Petrov, while the Mercedes duo of Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg and the Renault of Bruno Senna made it into the top 10.
Alonso set the benchmark at the start of the final part of qualifying after benefitting from a tow from team-mate Massa.
But Vettel then slotted into top spot with the McLarens close behind him before the reigning world champion spoiled what would have been an even faster lap by getting sideways through Ascari.
All the main contenders were virtually nose-to-tail on the final round of flying laps, with Vettel at the back of the queue.
Button was up after the first sector but ended up abandoning his lap and diving into the pits, while Hamilton made a mistake at the second chicane and failed to improve his time.
With no-one else able to match Vettel, the German had already been assured of pole position by the time he crossed the line, but that did not stop him going even faster to finish the session well ahead of the rest.
Earlier, in the first part of qualifying, Hamilton set the quickest time ahead of Vettel with Button in third as the signs looked promising for McLaren after a slightly disappointing final practice.
Pastor Maldonado lost his front wing after a spin on the exit of Parabolica but recovered to make it through to Q2, with Jaime Alguersuari dropping out alongside the Lotuses, Virgins and Hispanias.
The front-runners bolted on the softer tyres for Q2 and the lap times immediately began to tumble, with Vettel becoming the first driver of the weekend to dip below the 1:23 barrier.
The leading four teams occupied the first eight places, while behind them the Renaults of Petrov and Senna grabbed the last two places in the top-10 shootout.
Times
01. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m22.275
02. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m22.725 + 0.450
03. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m22.777 + 0.502
04. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m22.841 + 0.566
05. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m22.972 + 0.697
06. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m23.188 + 0.913
07. Vitaly Petrov Renault 1m23.530 + 1.255
08. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m23.777 + 1.502
09. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m24.477 + 2.202
10. Bruno Senna Renault No time
11. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m24.163 + 1.249
12. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1m24.209 + 1.295
13. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1m24.648 + 1.734
14. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 1m24.726 + 1.812
15. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m24.845 + 1.931
16. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m24.932 + 2.018
17. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m25.065 + 2.151
18. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m25.334 + 1.358
19. Jarno Trulli Lotus-Renault 1m26.647 + 2.671
20. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Renault 1m27.184 + 3.208
21. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1m27.591 + 3.615
22. Jerome D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 1m27.609 + 3.633
23. Daniel Ricciardo HRT-Cosworth 1m28.054 + 4.078
24. Tonio Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth 1m28.231 + 4.255