SAKHIR, Bahrain >> 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 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.

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.”

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.