Kimi Antonelli has revealed his plan to turn a surprise United States Grand Prix pole into victory as the Mercedes star stands on the brink of clinching his first Formula One world title on Sunday.
The 20-year-old can secure the championship in Austin if he wins, Lewis Hamilton finishes lower than fourth and George Russell ends up below eighth.
He beat Max Verstappen to pole by 0.179 seconds, with Red Bull's Isack Hadjar qualifying third.
Hamilton will start fifth for Ferrari, while Antonelli's Mercedes team-mate Russell lines up sixth.
Antonelli's priority is to protect his advantage on the uphill charge into Turn One, before attempting to dictate the pace with two Red Bulls behind him.
"We try to get a good start and hopefully lead into Turn One and try to set the pace, even though it's going to be very tight," he said.
But the Italian acknowledged that starting at the front offers no guarantee of victory, particularly with Verstappen and Hadjar ready to pounce.
"We got pole so we will try to win tomorrow but Max has been very quick and Isack did an incredible job so it is not going to be easy," Antonelli added.
His cautious assessment followed an ecstatic reaction to securing his first pole since the Belgian Grand Prix in July.
"It feels good to be back," he said after whooping with delight.
The result represented a turnaround after Ferrari topped all three practice sessions and Verstappen looked dangerous during the second stage of qualifying.
Even Antonelli's engineer Peter Bonnington admitted: "I wasn't expecting that."
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Yet the Mercedes driver's opening effort in Q3 proved enough, leaving his rivals unable to dislodge him when it mattered.
Verstappen, who had been fourth quickest in Q2 on used tyres, said his car's balance deserted him during the decisive session.
"Q3 was not good, Q1, Q2 were nice but for whatever reason in run one and two just didn't have a nice balance. No mistakes, just not enough grip. But if it's still a P2, I take it," he said.
Hadjar was only 0.036 seconds behind his team-mate, giving Antonelli another reason to prioritise keeping both Red Bulls behind at the start.
Ferrari's practice promise faded as Charles Leclerc qualified fourth, 0.232 seconds off pole, narrowly ahead of Hamilton.
Leclerc pointed to difficulties getting the tyres into their operating window as the track cooled.
Russell, meanwhile, admitted mistakes had denied him a possible top-three starting position, although he doubted pole had been achievable.
McLaren endured disappointment despite bringing an upgrade, with Oscar Piastri seventh and Lando Norris eighth after the Briton's best lap was deleted for exceeding track limits.
Those struggles leave Antonelli with an opportunity, but the championship remains dependent on more than his own result.
Hamilton must improve on fifth to reach the top four, while Russell currently occupies a position that would prevent Antonelli clinching the crown.
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