Lewis Hamilton qualified fastest at the Turkish Grand Prix, but will start the race on the 11th position after a 10-place grid penalty due to engine rules violations.
The Mercedes driver won by 0.13 seconds over teammate Valtteri bottas. Hamilton's title rival Max Vertappen is now in second place.
Verstappen starts the race in second place behind Hamilton in championship.
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari's fourth fastest driver, was ahead of Pierre Gasly from Alpha Tauri and Fernando Alonso from Alpine.
Mercedes achieved the perfect result, both drivers being in the best position possible for the race start.
Bottas was the fastest in final qualifying. Hamilton was 0.022sec behind Bottas. But the Briton took off early for his second run, and put together a lap fast enough to jumpfrog his team-mate.
Bottas seemed to be on track to claim the fastest lap but lost his grip in the last three corners. His second lap was just 0.07secs behind his first.
The Finn will win the race and keep Verstappen from scoring as many points possible.
Bottas stated that the last lap was a little too long for me in the last sector. He then started picking up understeer. "Lewis is at the top of the podium and I am on pole. Tomorrow, I will be focusing on my own race. Keep up a good pace."
Verstappen was among the drivers that spun when the track dried during the first qualifying session
It can be tricky to qualify
Qualifying began on a track still damp from overnight rain, and with a wet last practice session. Although the track was slick, there were many spins and off-track moments throughout as drivers discovered their limits.
Hamilton said that the session was very difficult and that he had taken a new engine to improve reliability over the remainder of the season. He has now exceeded his allowed allowance. "There were still some wet patches and it wasn't easy to get the temperature in the tires for the first lap.
"Great job getting us out of the house at the right moment.
"Tomorrow will prove difficult, but I will do my best. It's not an easy task to overtake at the moment, and we all have the same tyres.
"It will be hard to move up,"
Verstappen stated that the Red Bull was not able to match the Mercedes' pace.
He said, "Compared to yesterday, we managed to turn the situation around quite well." "The laps were very good. However, there wasn't enough lap time to challenge for pole.
"Third is our maximum and tomorrow will be lining up in the second. Let's wait to see what the weather does, but overall I'm quite happy."
Hamilton's comment about tyres was made in reference to the fact that only one driver, Alpha Tauri's Yuki Tauri, in ninth place, will use the soft tyre. All others prefer the durable medium in session two, which determines the starting tyre for the drivers in top half of grid.
Verstappen's Sergio Perez was behind the big three but failed to reach the goals of his team and qualified close to the Mercedes. A spin in the second session caused him to lose a set of tyres. He only had one set for the final session, and the Mexican was only seventh. Alonso, Gasly, and Leclerc were all beaten.
McLaren's Lando norris, Aston Martin Lance Stroll and Tsunoda rounded out the top 10.
George Russell, the Williams driver, will start 13th. Mick Schumacher, an impressive 14th in Haas, will be starting in the Haas. Daniel Ricciardo, a disappointing 16th in second McLaren.
