SAKHIR, Bahrain (AP) 鈥� 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.
鈥淭he others caught up a little bit closer than what I wanted,鈥� Piastri said, 鈥渂ut I still delivered the laps when it mattered, which was the most important thing in the end so very, very happy.鈥�
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.
鈥淚 think if anybody said we鈥檇 be within half a second of the McLarens, we'd have taken it,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 think being realistic it鈥檒l be a challenge to fight with with Oscar.鈥�
Montreal's Lance Stroll was 19th.
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 鈥渢errible鈥� problem with his brakes and seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton was ninth for Ferrari. Verstappen is one point off standings leader Norris after 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鈥檛 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.
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AP auto racing:
The Associated Press
