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

Oscar Piastri took pole in qualifying for the Bahrain Grand Prix on Saturday as his McLaren teammate and Formula 1 standings leader Lando Norris could only manage sixth.

George Russell was a surprisingly strong challenger and placed second for Mercedes, .168 of a second off Piastri's time. However, a penalty for a team mix-up meant he won't start Sunday's race alongside Piastri.

A ruling issued late Saturday dropped Russell one place because Mercedes released his car from the garage to the pit lane before it had officially reopened following a red flag. Charles Leclerc, who qualified third for Ferrari, will start second.

Russell's 18-year-old rookie teammate Andrea Kimi Antonelli was also dropped one spot from fourth to fifth.

Norris was .426 off Piastri's pace in sixth and told broadcaster Sky Sports he had ''no idea'' what went wrong.

''I'm just not quick enough,'' he said.

Champion Max Verstappen of Red Bull was seventh after reporting a ''terrible'' problem with his brakes and seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton was ninth for Ferrari.

''The others caught up a little bit closer than what I wanted,'' Piastri said of the unexpected pressure from Mercedes, ''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.''

A milestone for Piastri

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 and intensify a potential title rivalry within the McLaren team.

Verstappen is one point off standings leader Norris after winning the Japanese Grand Prix last week.

Red Bull's problems in Bahrain were shared by Verstappen's teammate Yuki Tsunoda, who qualified 10th, and Red Bull has also struggled for pace in practice.

It's easier to overtake in Bahrain than in Japan last week, when Verstappen was able to hold off both McLarens for the whole race. That could give Norris, in particular, a chance to recover from sixth.

''This is probably the the first race so far when qualifying doesn't mean everything,'' Piastri said. ''I'm expecting him to fight back tomorrow. I'll just try and make sure that I do the best job that I can and wherever he ends up is where he ends up.''

Ocon's crash disrupts qualifying

Esteban Ocon had a heavy crash in his Haas in the second part of qualifying when he clipped a curb and span backward into the wall, causing a red flag. He was unhurt.

Liam Lawson's tough start to the year continued as he was 17th for Racing Bulls after a fault with the DRS system. It's the New Zealander's second race since he was demoted from the main Red Bull team in favor of Tsunoda.

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AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing