Lewis Hamilton stormed to the 15th pole position of his career ahead of tomorrow's Italian Grand Prix.
The reigning world champion saved it until the final moment as he was the last to cross the line in a hotly-contested final 10-minute showdown, deposing Force India's Adrian Sutil from top spot.
There was a possibility Hamilton could be penalised, though, as he appeared to impede Toro Rosso's Sebastien Buemi late on in the initial 20-minute Q1.
However, given Buemi was never going to make it into the next session, it was hard to imagine the stewards penalising the McLaren star.
Behind another unusual front row, given Sutil's performance, Kimi Raikkonen again gave the home fans something to cheer in his Ferrari.
He will start third, with the 2007 world champion joined on the second row by his fellow Finn, McLaren's Heikki Kovalainen.
The Brawns, clearly back in form after their recent struggles, are on the third row, with Rubens Barrichello starting fifth and Jenson Button sixth, the Brazilian outqualifying the Briton for the third successive race.
On his debut for Force India, Tonio Liuzzi gave the team another historic moment as he will start seventh, the first time they have managed to get both cars into the top 10.
Renault's Fernando Alonso starts eighth, followed by the Red Bulls of Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber, their title hopes fading further.
BMW Sauber suffered a wretched Q2 as both Nick Heidfeld and Robert Kubica retired, with engine trouble.
Heidfeld, who had looked strong in practice and was poised for a high grid slot, was the first to exit early in the 15-minute run.
Approaching the opening Rettifilio chicane, Heidfeld slowed and took the short cut.
The German then wove through the polystyrene barriers before pulling over on a safe part of the track, with a wisp of smoke emerging from the rear as he did, so giving the game away.
Just a few minutes later and Kubica also slowed as he hurtled down the start-finish straight, pulling onto the grass 100 metres short of the Rettifilio.
Kubica will start 13th and Heidfeld 15th, with the man to split them being Giancarlo Fisichella on his debut for Ferrari.
The 36-year-old has clearly struggled to adapt to the car in the wake of his move from Force India nine days ago, notably crashing it this morning in final practice.
Fisichella will at least have the honour tomorrow of being the first Italian since Ivan Capelli in 1992 to drive a Ferrari at Monza.
However, it would appear he has forsaken the prospect of winning the race for taking up such an honour with the Maranello marque given the performances of Sutil and Liuzzi.
Toyota's Jarno Trulli will start from 11th, with Romain Grosjean a semirespectable 12th for Renault bearing in mind his car has Kers on board this weekend.
Williams' fears regarding this circuit were certainly realised as both Kazuki Nakajima and Nico Rosberg failed to make it out of Q1.
For Rosberg, who had qualified in the top 10 in 11 of the previous 12 races this season, the 24-year-old will start from his lowest position of the year in 18th, one place behind Nakajima.
Toyota's Timo Glock was another unable to find the downforce and power required for Monza as he starts 16th, with the Toro Rossos bringing up the rear.
Buemi will line up 19th, with Jaime Alguersuari 20th, the young Spaniard's five-place grid penalty for a gearbox change after final practice not counting for anything on this occasion.
* PA Sport
Learn more about Qasr Al Hosn
In 2013, The National's History Project went beyond the walls to see what life was like living in Abu Dhabi's fabled fort:
SPECS
Engine: Two-litre four-cylinder turbo
Power: 235hp
Torque: 350Nm
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Price: From Dh167,500 ($45,000)
On sale: Now
The specs: 2018 Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk
Price, base: Dh399,999
Engine: Supercharged 6.2-litre V8
Gearbox: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 707hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque: 875Nm @ 4,800rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 16.8L / 100km (estimate)
The alternatives
• Founded in 2014, Telr is a payment aggregator and gateway with an office in Silicon Oasis. It’s e-commerce entry plan costs Dh349 monthly (plus VAT). QR codes direct customers to an online payment page and merchants can generate payments through messaging apps.
• Business Bay’s Pallapay claims 40,000-plus active merchants who can invoice customers and receive payment by card. Fees range from 1.99 per cent plus Dh1 per transaction depending on payment method and location, such as online or via UAE mobile.
• Tap started in May 2013 in Kuwait, allowing Middle East businesses to bill, accept, receive and make payments online “easier, faster and smoother” via goSell and goCollect. It supports more than 10,000 merchants. Monthly fees range from US$65-100, plus card charges of 2.75-3.75 per cent and Dh1.2 per sale.
• 2checkout’s “all-in-one payment gateway and merchant account” accepts payments in 200-plus markets for 2.4-3.9 per cent, plus a Dh1.2-Dh1.8 currency conversion charge. The US provider processes online shop and mobile transactions and has 17,000-plus active digital commerce users.
• PayPal is probably the best-known online goods payment method - usually used for eBay purchases - but can be used to receive funds, providing everyone’s signed up. Costs from 2.9 per cent plus Dh1.2 per transaction.
Founder: Ayman Badawi
Date started: Test product September 2016, paid launch January 2017
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Software
Size: Seven employees
Funding: $170,000 in angel investment
Funders: friends
How tumultuous protests grew
- A fuel tax protest by French drivers appealed to wider anti-government sentiment
- Unlike previous French demonstrations there was no trade union or organised movement involved
- Demonstrators responded to online petitions and flooded squares to block traffic
- At its height there were almost 300,000 on the streets in support
- Named after the high visibility jackets that drivers must keep in cars
- Clashes soon turned violent as thousands fought with police at cordons
- An estimated two dozen people lost eyes and many others were admitted to hospital
Volunteers offer workers a lifeline
Community volunteers have swung into action delivering food packages and toiletries to the men.
When provisions are distributed, the men line up in long queues for packets of rice, flour, sugar, salt, pulses, milk, biscuits, shaving kits, soap and telecom cards.
Volunteers from St Mary’s Catholic Church said some workers came to the church to pray for their families and ask for assistance.
Boxes packed with essential food items were distributed to workers in the Dubai Investments Park and Ras Al Khaimah camps last week. Workers at the Sonapur camp asked for Dh1,600 towards their gas bill.
“Especially in this year of tolerance we consider ourselves privileged to be able to lend a helping hand to our needy brothers in the Actco camp," Father Lennie Connully, parish priest of St Mary’s.
Workers spoke of their helplessness, seeing children’s marriages cancelled because of lack of money going home. Others told of their misery of being unable to return home when a parent died.
“More than daily food, they are worried about not sending money home for their family,” said Kusum Dutta, a volunteer who works with the Indian consulate.
