World champion Lewis Hamilton, back in the car after his COVID-19-enforced absence at last week's Sakhir Grand Prix, was third but only 0.086 seconds off the pace.
The Briton said his stunning success is creating some tension between him and McLaren team mate Fernando Alonso.
Formula One world championship leader Sebastian Vettel won the Bahrain Grand Prix for Ferrari on Sunday in the German's 200th race start.
Lewis Hamilton landed an early psychological blow ahead of Formula One's Abu Dhabi title showdown by lapping faster than Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg in both Friday practice sessions.
Likened to a pit bull by triumphant McLaren team-mate Jenson Button, Lewis Hamilton is looking for a less combative way back to the top in Formula One.
McLaren's Lewis Hamilton set down a marker for the weekend with the quickest time of the first two practice sessions for the Chinese Grand Prix on Friday.
Nico Rosberg's 30th pole position of his career was the German's third in a row at Suzuka as Mercedes, who can wrap up a third successive constructors' title on Sunday, claimed first place on the grid for the 52nd time in the last 54 races.
Lewis Hamilton may not be putting the Buddha into Budapest this weekend but he could be tempted to seek divine assistance if luck goes against him in Sunday's Hungarian Grand Prix.
Bookmakers William Hill have the Briton as 15/8 favourite for the 2018 drivers championship, with Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel at 3/1 and Red Bull's Max Verstappen at 10/3.
Lewis Hamilton wanted to move to Red Bull and had advanced discussions with the champions before he agreed a deal to race for Mercedes this season, according to Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone.
The Briton will be toiling flat out on May Day, the international workers' holiday, to deny his German rival a seventh successive win and fourth of the sport's longest ever season.
'I want everything recyclable, down to deodorant, toothbrush, all these kind of things. I'm trying to make as much change as I can in my personal space'
'I was actually with Serena last week in LA ... she came out to Mexico (for the race) which for me was a real honour to have someone of her power, someone who has achieved so much' 'Venus talks a lot about wisdom and about her growth and about the process of being a sportsman or sportswoman so generally from both of them, I take a lot of inspiration and admire them both hugely'
Leclerc was 11 seconds clear with seven laps to go and 8.3 ahead with five remaining as the massed ranks of 'tifosi' willed him on.
The 21-year-old Briton could be drafted in for next week's season-ending Brazilian Grand Prix.
Lewis Hamilton edged his Mercedes team mate on his final flying lap to secure pole position for the Singapore Grand Prix on Saturday, the Briton crossing the line just 0.007 seconds ahead of the German.
Ferrari's new champion Kimi Raikkonen was fourth on the timesheets.
Finland's Valtteri Bottas took pole position for the Russian Grand Prix on Saturday with Mercedes team mate and Formula One leader Lewis Hamilton having to settle for second place on the starting grid.
Red Bull's Max Verstappen started the season with a commanding Bahrain Grand Prix win from pole position.
Lewis Hamilton took a big step towards clinching his fifth Formula One title after putting his Mercedes on pole position at the U.S. Grand Prix on Saturday with Ferrari rival Sebastian Vettel starting fifth.
Lewis Hamilton continued his season's sweep of qualifying at the Bahrain Grand Prix.
Lewis Hamilton won his home British Grand Prix on Sunday and slashed Mercedes team mate Nico Rosberg's Formula One lead to four points after the German retired for the first time this season.
Lewis Hamilton stepped out on to the Italian Grand Prix podium, high above the red tide of Ferrari.
Four-times world champion Sebastian Vettel won the Australian Grand Prix for Ferrari on Sunday to dash Mercedes' hopes of extending their dominance into a fourth successive season of Formula One.
McLaren's Lewis Hamilton battled to a masterful Monaco Grand Prix victory on Sunday despite hitting the barriers on an afternoon of mayhem on the principality's slippery streets. The Briton's sixth win in 23 starts catapulted the 23-year-old into the championship lead, three points clear of Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen who failed to score.
Mercedes' George Russell celebrated a surprise Austrian Grand Prix win on Sunday after Red Bull's triple world champion Max Verstappen and McLaren's Lando Norris collided late in the race
Lewis Hamilton avoided mayhem around him to open the F1 season with a pole-to-flag victory in a crash-strewn Australian Grand Prix.
The pole was Hamilton's ninth in 10 races this season, the 47th of his career and left the Briton perfectly placed for a fifth career win at the Hungaroring.
'For him to live the life that he is living and still keep up with such a performance, full credit to him'
Lewis Hamilton has played down his Mercedes team's chances of challenging for the Formula One title after rivals Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso talked them up.
'I still need to beat all the opposition and Lewis, always need to reckon with him because with a bit of luck and safety cars at the right moment there is no reason why he can't come from far back and through the grid'
World champion Lewis Hamilton is better for Formula One than either Sebastian Vettel or Nico Rosberg, the sport's commercial supremo Bernie Ecclestone said on Sunday.
Championship leader Lewis Hamilton intends to visit the grave of his boyhood hero Ayrton Senna after the Brazilian Grand Prix.
Reigning F1 champ warns Bottas about Hamilton rivalry
World championship leader Lewis Hamilton put himself on course for a third successive Grand Prix victory after grabbing an emphatic pole position for Sunday's Hungarian race. The Briton powered around the blisteringly hot Hungaroring track in one minute 20.899 seconds, with team mate Heikki Kovalainen posting the second best time of 1:21.140s.
Formula One championship leader Lewis Hamilton put McLaren on pole position for engine partners Mercedes' home German Grand Prix/
Lewis Hamilton took pole position, his third of the season, at the Hungarian Grand Prix on Saturday after dominating the two days of practice.
McLaren's championship leader Lewis Hamilton crashed heavily in qualifying for the European Grand Prix on Saturday, casting a question mark over his participation in the race.
Lewis Hamilton hopes fellow Briton Jenson Button will make a comeback and replace McLaren's Fernando Alonso at the Monaco Grand Prix when the Spaniard is away competing in the Indianapolis 500 in May.
McLaren's Lewis Hamilton won a chaotic and thrilling Belgian Grand Prix to seize back the Formula One championship lead from Red Bull's Mark Webber on Sunday.
