Nico Rosberg out-qualified Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton for the sixth race in a row to seal pole for the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
He beat Hamilton by a substantial 0.377 seconds after a qualifying session that see-sawed between the two.
Rosberg was quicker on the first runs in the top 10 shoot-out, Hamilton beat his time by 0.124secs with his final lap, only for Rosberg to top it.
Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen beat Force India's Sergio Perez to third place.
Raikkonen's team-mate, Sebastian Vettel, will start 16th after Ferrari miscalculated the lap time he needed to progress beyond the first knock-out session.
Rosberg's stunning final lap
Hamilton had been determined on arriving in Abu Dhabi to try to end Rosberg's impressive run of poles, which stems back to the Japanese Grand Prix in late September.
But in the end his team-mate was too strong, producing a stunning final lap to continue his resurgence following the disappointment of Hamilton winning the title in the US Grand Prix last month with three races still to go.
Despite the championship being over, the two have been playing mind games with each other as they seek a psychological edge going into the winter and preparations for the 2016 season.
Hamilton has talked of a change to the Mercedes car altering its feel, and reducing his confidence in it, following the team's struggles at the Singapore Grand Prix.
Rosberg has spoken this weekend about his higher-mileage engine giving him a disadvantage.
The team have played down the significance of both.
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