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 and Norris was .426 off the pace in sixth.
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.
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.
Verstappen is one point off standings leader Norris after winning the Japanese Grand Prix last week.
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