Valtteri Bottas will start the Austrian Grand Prix at the front of the grid after pipping Lewis Hamilton to pole position.
The six-time world champion was made to fight tooth and nail with his team-mate as the German manufacturer dominated qualifying with their new DAS steering system.
Bottas had broken new ground with a 1:02.939 - a new lap record at the Red Bull Ring - with Hamilton a further tenth back.
And despite veering off into the gravel on his second hot lap, the Finn clinched his third pole in Spielberg with the world champion Hamilton unable to close the gap.
Max Verstappen, who put out a statement of intent by topping the charts in Q1 by less than a tenth of a second ahead of Bottas, claimed third ahead of Lando Norris in fourth.
Alex Albon qualified fifth with Lance Stroll demonstrating why Racing Point are being tipped for a good season by finishing sixth in that session.
Ferrari were expected to struggle due to their lack of power down the straights and Sebastian Vettel was a shock casualty as he crashed out of Q2, with Leclerc only 10th-fastest.
Mercedes kept their status by locking out the front row with Bottas a tenth ahead of Hamilton this time, producing an intriguing finale for Q3 with Alex Albon taking third and both McLarens in the top five.
Into the top-10 shootout, Mercedes were in a league of their own with Red Bull, their closest challengers, half a second down through Verstappen's lap time.
Bottas nearly cost himself pole when he went off into the gravel towards the end of the lap, but Hamilton didn't have enough to push his team-mate after seeing yellow flags on his hot lap.
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