On the radio to the team afterwards, Norris said: “What a lap. What a lap. Even I don’t know how I did that.”

Once out of the car, Norris added: “I’m happy to be back on pole. It has been quite a long time. The lap, it was one of those laps when you don’t really know what happened. It felt decent but when I crossed the line and saw a [one minute] 15.5, I was very pleasantly surprised.

“I have been feeling good all weekend. I got a little bit nervous of the Ferrari in Q3 but I pulled it out in the end.”

Leclerc, who had been nearly 0.2secs quicker than Norris on his first run, felt there was no capacity for anything else in the Ferrari.

“This qualifying is very difficult because there is very little grip so the car is sliding a lot and to put everything together is very tricky,” he said.

“I am pretty happy with the job we have done. I don’t think there is much more in the car. We will do everything to get the first place into the first corner and see what’s possible.”

Hamilton, whose previous best qualifying result this season was fourth in Monaco, was just 0.09secs off his team-mate’s pace.

The seven-time champion said: “I’m really happy. I am honoured to be up here with Charles and Lando. These guys have been so quick all year and it’s an amazing feeling.

“It’s the first time we’ve both been up here all year and the team really deserve it. We have been working so hard.”