Lotus boss Tony Fernandes was left speechless after a long cloudburst and flying Finn Heikki Kovalainen combined to give the team its best qualifying finish since returning to the Grand Prix circuit.
As Ferrari and McLaren were caught out by an unexpectedly long downpour and were forced out after the opening session, Kovalainen helped his team into the second session against the clock for the first time this year.
"Getting to Q2 really exceeds expectations for me and the whole team," a delighted Kovalainen said after qualifying in 15th for the Malaysian Grand Prix for Lotus, whose previous best mark was 19th in Australia.
"Although we were lucky, we played our strategy just right - if you look at the McLarens and Ferraris they didn't think it was going to rain that much and look what happened. They missed their window at the beginning of the session and we took full advantage of it. Now I can't wait to race tomorrow."
The result came as a boost for the former Renault and McLaren driver, who had earlier been fined 1,400 euros for speeding in the pit lane in Saturday's final practice session.
The Lotus cars of Kovalainen and Jarno Trulli, who finished in 18th, have been four seconds off the pace in Malaysia this week, content that their heavier, more reliable car would finish races ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix in May when their major upgrades are due.
But after a shrewd strategy in the Malaysian rain which showed up their more illustrious opponents, team principal Fernandes was left in buoyant mood ahead of Sunday's race, where more heavy showers are forecast.
"I'm speechless. What a day. To get 15th place in our home country, in front of our home crowd is amazing. I'm over the moon and just so excited."
Another of the new teams Virgin Racing were represented in Q2 when German Timo Glock also took advantage of the error by the Ferrari and McLaren teams to finish in 16th.
"It's great for the team and there is now a lot of motivation for tomorrow," Glock said.
"It looks like it could be a crazy race tomorrow so we have to stay focused and stay on the track and we'll see how it ends up."
It marked a major breakthrough for the new teams, who had all been eliminated in the first stage of qualifying for the opening two races of the season in Bahrain and Australia.
The third new side HRT (Hispania Racing) did not enjoy the same level of success as their rivals, with both Karun Chandhok and Bruno Senna being eliminated in the first session.
The one bright spot for the HRT team was that they will not start at the back of the grid for the first time this year after their drivers finished ahead of last place Brazilian Lucas Di Grassi of Virgin.