The scene is set for a thrilling climax to the 2012 Formula One season after Lewis Hamilton upstaged title contenders Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso by claiming pole position for Sunday's Brazilian Grand Prix.
Hamilton, who beat the duo to win the penultimate race in the U.S. last weekend, headed off McLaren teammate Jenson Button in Saturday's qualifying at Interlagos.
Championship leader Vettel had to settle for fourth on the grid behind Red Bull teammate Mark Webber, while second-placed Alonso was back in eighth -- later bumped up to seventh -- as he was again out-qualified by Ferrari colleague Felipe Massa.
Alonso was handed a small boost when Williams' Pastor Maldonado was relegated from sixth to 16th after receiving a reprimand for failing to take his car to the weighbridge when requested to do so by stewards.
Vettel will clinch his third successive title if Alonso -- also seeking to become the sport's youngest triple champion -- finishes outside the top three.
The German, who holds a 13-point lead after finishing second in Austin, will be champion whatever his rival's result if he places in the top four.
However, with rain expected on Sunday the title race is far from over -- especially as Alonso has overcome poor qualifying form many times this season to consistently finish on the podium.
"Ninth in the USA and eighth here so more or less as I expected," he said. "I will try to achieve the podiums which we achieved in Abu Dhabi and Austin from those positions.
"No big changes in our race. F1 is dominated by aerodynamics. We ran with maximum downforce in dry and same in the wet so no big changes today, no gamble. It is minimum changes."
The Spaniard, who won his two titles with Renault in 2005 and 2006, triumphed in the season's only rain-affected race in Malaysia in March.