Max Verstappen starts on pole for F1’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix alongside Oscar Piastri

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia — Max Verstappen is set to start on pole position for Sunday’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix alongside McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, as they both bid to take the Formula 1 standings lead from Lando Norris.

Four-time champion Verstappen set a blistering time in qualifying Saturday to take pole for the second time in three races, while Norris qualified only 10th for McLaren after crashing into the wall.

Verstappen is aiming to repeat his success in Japan two races ago, when he started on pole and held off the McLarens, but he’s pessimistic that his Red Bull has the pace over a full race distance to take the win in hotter conditions in Saudi Arabia.

It’s a dramatic turnaround from Verstappen’s struggles last week at the Bahrain Grand Prix, when his Red Bull car was well off the pace.

George Russell, who will start from third for Mercedes, said the race could be decided at the first corner.

If Piastri gets ahead at the start, he could cruise to the sort of dominant win he had in Bahrain last week, Russell predicted, adding that he expects a much tighter contest if Piastri has a longer battle to get past Verstappen.

Norris says he’s targeting a finish in the top five, which would limit the damage to his title chances.

The GP starts at 1900 GMT (1 p.m. ET).

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