Sebastian Vettel was a relieved man having ended a near year-long wait for a pole position at the Canadian Grand Prix.
It was the straight-line speed of the Ferrari which proved too much for Mercedes, as the German powered clear in the final sector to beat Lewis Hamilton in an action-packed session.
And while it marked the Italian team's second pole of the year, following Charles Leclerc's in Bahrain, for Vettel it was his first since Hockenheim 2018.
“He [Hamilton] is bloody good in qualifying, hard to crack, but I'm full of adrenaline, to be honest," he said when asked about breaking that 17-race duck on Saturday.
“You know the feeling in the car when it just keeps coming, you feel the grip. That was one of those laps. It was really, really, really nice. I really enjoyed it.
“Very happy, very happy for the team because the last few weeks, the last 17 races have been quite tough for us.”
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Ferrari was expected to enjoy a more competitive weekend in Montreal because of their engine advantage, but to follow through on the promise delighted team boss Mattia Binotto.
"We're certainly very happy and the entire weekend we've been performing OK, this is a positive surprise," he told Sky Sports.
"The track will improve, it will be a lot hotter so it will be a tough race for everybody."
Indeed, having now completed the first task of claiming pole, the big test will come on Sunday and trying to end Mercedes' stranglehold on the top step of the podium this year.
And with tyres expected to play a key role, Vettel is hoping the performance from Saturday is repeated.
“It was awful,” he said of the long run pace on Friday. “Today the car was a lot better. We take that into tomorrow.
“Good day, the car felt good and we can take that into the race. These guys [Hamilton and Leclerc] will be very quick over the distance, but we'll try everything.”
