Lewis Hamilton claimed pole position for the Japanese Grand Prix on Saturday, leading a 1-2 finish for Mercedes and taking a step closer to securing his fifth F1 title.
With five races to go, Hamilton would move a step closer to winning a fifth world championship with a win in Suzuka, a race he has dominated in recent years.
Hamilton now leads Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel by 50 points in the standings with five races remaining as both chase their fifth title.
Bottas was 0.145 ahead of Hamilton and 0.56 ahead of third-placed Sebastian Vettel, who is second in the standings, 40 points off Hamilton.
Hamilton was .199 seconds faster than Bottas in cool, overcast conditions, followed by the two Red Bulls of Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo.
It is looking increasingly like a repeat scenario for the Ferrari driver, who now has just six races left to catch Hamilton as they both bid for a fifth F1 title.
Vettel sat glum-faced in the news conference after qualifying third, trailing Hamilton by a sizeable margin in Formula One terms: 0.6 seconds.
Hamilton produced something special to set a blistering time and secure a record-extending 79th pole position in Formula One and a 200th for a British driver.
Sebastian Vettel was nearly two seconds behind Raikkonen in ninth, but was using slower tires than his teammate.
The Mercedes driver beat Raikkonen, who had started in pole, to tie Michael Schumacher's record of five Italian GP victories and extend his championship lead.
Surprisingly, it was Kimi Raikkonen who edged his teammate and title hopeful Vettel in qualifying on Saturday to clinch only his second pole position in 10 years.
Hamilton started from pole position for a record fifth time at Spa, and a record-extending 78th in Formula One, with Vettel second on the grid.
The Mercedes driver saved his best for the last lap to easily beat Sebastian Vettel's leading time for Ferrari by 0.7 seconds and secure a Formula One record-extending 78th pole.
Vettel lost his way after the summer break last year, winning only one of nine races compared to five by Hamilton.
Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas shared a few pictures of the engagement in Mumbai, which has left fans around the world wonderstruck, however, one such fan happened to be the F1 World Champion.
Hamilton was untroubled as he secured a second straight win, fifth of the season and 67th overall.
Hamilton again showed he is untouchable in the rain, producing a brilliant last lap to take pole position for the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Vettel should have been the one in the ascendancy, but his clumsy crash while leading the rain-soaked German GP last Sunday cost him the race and gifted victory to Hamilton.
Hamilton's love of fighting from the back is somewhat ironic, considering he is F1's record holder with 76 pole positions — eight more than Michael Schumacher.
Leading both the drivers' and constructors' championships before the race, Vettel and Ferrari are now behind in both.
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