Lando Norris put his upgraded McLaren on pole position for the third year in a row for the São Paulo Grand Prix.
The Brit was tussling for provisional pole with Mercedes' George Russell before crossing the line two-tenths quicker in wet conditions.
Russell has a five-place grid penalty for Sunday, so he will start the race in seventh. He was again furious with his Mercedes team, questioning why they asked him to back off on his final flying lap -- believing that decision cost him the pole.
His teammate and new world champion Kimi Antonelli was third fastest and will be promoted to second.
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc qualified in fourth, but has a 10-place grid penalty for taking a new internal combustion engine. He will start in 14th.
Racing Bulls' Liam Lawson qualified in fifth, but has been promoted to third.
Some cars were in the pit lane when rain started and they tiptoed round before the session was swiftly red-flagged. Red Bull's Isack Hadjar was on the radio to ask for a new race suit, having been drenched.
"I'm so wet!" Antonelli said. The 20-year-old remained in his car as the delay ticked past an hour.
Safety car driver Bernd Maylander did exploratory laps of the track, reporting back that it was "not drivable" as the weather worsened -- with thunder bellowing over Interlagos.
Despite rain continuing to fall and the track still soaked, the FIA confirmed a restart for 4.26 p.m. local time -- an hour and 24 minutes after the red flag.
Max Verstappen, who is starting from the back of the grid in his Red Bull, opted out of Q2 to save his tyres for Sunday's race. The Dutchman will start in 21st.
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It is a position he is familiar with having done the same here over the last two years, famously winning from 17th in the rain in 2024.
Lewis Hamilton did not take the same approach as he began Q2, but when the grid switched to intermediates, the 41-year-old decided enough was enough and to save his tyres.
He will start one place ahead of Verstappen in 20th in his Ferrari after being fitted with an all-new engine due to a technical issue in final practice.
Audi's Nico Hülkenberg will start Sunday's race in fourth, with Hadjar in the other Red Bull in fifth.
Haas' Rafael Câmara crashed in the final moments of Q2 on his Formula 1 debut, resulting in a red flag.
Information from PA has contributed to this report.