Piastri on pole and Norris only sixth in qualifying for F1’s Bahrain Grand Prix

SAKHIR, Bahrain — Oscar Piastri took pole in qualifying for the Bahrain Grand Prix on Saturday as his McLaren teammate and standings leader Lando Norris could only manage sixth.

George Russell was a surprisingly strong challenger and took second for Mercedes, .168 of a second off Piastri’s time. Charles Leclerc qualified third for Ferrari, with Russell’s 18-year-old rookie teammate Andrea Kimi Antonelli fourth.

“The others caught up a little bit closer than what I wanted,” Piastri said, “but I still delivered the laps when it mattered, which was the most important thing in the end so very, very happy.”

Russell said being so close to Piastri was a pleasant surprise but played down his chances of fighting for the win in Sunday’s race.

“I think if anybody said we’d be within half a second of the McLarens, we’d have taken it,” he said. “I think being realistic it’ll be a challenge to fight with with Oscar.”

Piastri is heading into his 50th career race with a chance for his second win of the season after victory in China last month. A win could put him top of the standings.

Norris was .426 off Piastri’s pace in sixth after a slight slip on his final qualifying lap as he tried to respond to Russell’s impressive pace.

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen was seventh after reporting a “terrible” problem with his brakes and seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton was ninth for Ferrari. Verstappen is one point off standings leader Norris after winning the Japanese Grand Prix last week.

Esteban Ocon had a heavy crash in his Haas in the second part of qualifying, causing a delay. He signaled to the team he wasn’t hurt.

Despite Mercedes’ strong pace, Russell and Antonelli are facing an investigation later Saturday for driving out of the garage during a restricted period in the qualifying session.