George Russell edged out McLaren's Lando Norris to take pole position ahead of this weekend's sprint race at the Dutch Grand Prix.
The Mercedes driver pipped the reigning world champion to the line by 0.041 seconds in the closing stages of qualifying.
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc finished in third, while Oscar Piastri was fourth in the McLaren, with only a tenth separating the top four.
Kimi Antonelli in the Mercedes was 0.227 seconds off the pace and finished in fifth.
Russell, who spent the majority of the first half of the season hunting down his teammate Antonelli in the title standings, will be relieved with getting a quick time on the board ahead of the sprint race on Saturday.
This will be his third sprint pole of the season after grabbing pole in China and Canada.
"It's great to be back here after the break. It's a circuit I love. It needs a lot of commitment," Russell said.
"It was a tough end to the first half of the year and I'm really happy to come back.
"The lap felt really good. It all came together really nicely. It's always difficult these sprint qualifyings with just one shot on the soft tyre. The track always takes a step, the grip takes a step.
"McLaren look quick, Ferrari look quick but I'm glad to pull it off when it matted. It's only sprint qualifying. The big points on Sunday so I will try to carry this momentum into tomorrow."
Antonelli picked up damage after going wide at the penultimate corner in the first session of qualifying and was unable to match Russell's pace as a result.
The Italian youngster was quickest in the sole practice session earlier on Friday.
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"Oh yeah, [there was] big time [damage]. I had a couple of holes in the floor," Antonelli said.
"When I came in, they initially said it was a loss of 25 [downforce] points. They tried to repair as much as possible, but definitely the damage was still there. I was struggling a lot in the low-speed [corners]."
Norris set the pace in the final session of qualifying before Russell beat him to the line, and heads into the weekend off the back of his first win of the season last time out in Hungary.
Max Verstappen, who signed a contract extension deal at Red Bull this week to take him through 2030, finished in sixth.
Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton crossed the line in seventh, with Alpine's Pierre Gasly rounding out the top eight.
Antonelli is currently leading the drivers' championship by 50 points from Hamilton, with Russell a further nine points adrift. Points are up for grabs from the sprint race, with the winner receiving eight points.
The sprint race at this weekend's Dutch Grand Prix will take place on Saturday at 11 a.m. BST.
