Oscar Piastri beat George Russell to pole position in a dramatic end to qualifying for the Bahrain Grand Prix as championship leader Lando Norris was only sixth. Piastri made the most of Norris' scruffy final lap in Q3 to record his second career F1 pole by less than two tenths from Russell, with Charles Leclerc equally impressive in third for Ferrari. McLaren were expected to lock out the front row after dominating practice but a poor last lap from Norris as the track ramped up left him in sixth behind Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli and Alpine's Pierre Gasly. Norris leads the championship by just one point over Max Verstappen, who will start right behind the McLaren driver as he struggled with braking throughout qualifying. With Piastri only 13 points behind Norris in the standings, he has an opportunity to make inroads into his deficit after the Bahrain Grand Prix, which begins at 4pm live on Sky Sports F1 on Sunday. Williams' Carlos Sainz had his best Saturday of the year in eighth ahead of Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton and Red Bull's Yuki Tsunoda in 10th. Haas' Esteban Ocon suffered a massive crash during Q2 but managed to walk away from the accident. Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player Esteban Ocon spins off the track and crashes into the barrier, bringing out the red flag in qualifying at the Bahrain Grand Prix Bahrain GP Qualifying: Top 10 1) Oscar Piastri, McLaren 2) George Russell, Mercedes 3) Charles Leclerc, Ferrari 4) Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes 5) Pierre Gasly, Alpine 6) Lando Norris, McLaren 7) Max Verstappen, Red Bull 8) Carlos Sainz, Williams 9) Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari 10) Yuki Tsunoda, Red Bull Piastri delivers as Norris throws chance away Throughout practice, McLaren were clearly ahead of the field but Piastri has been setting the pace since second practice on Friday. Having topped Q2 and gone fastest after the first Q3 runs, Piastri faced serious pressure when Russell delivered a great lap on the evolving track to take provisional pole. The Australian delivered with a 1:29.841 to beat Russell's time by 0.168s, so attention turned to Norris, who was behind on the circuit. Norris was third following the opening Q3 laps but made an error at Turn One on his last run and shredded more time over the remainder of the lap to end up 0.426s adrift of pole in sixth. Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player A despondent Lando Norris felt he just was not quick enough after qualifying sixth for the Bahrain GP in his McLaren Antonelli and Gasly jumped the British driver with their best qualifying performances of the season, both within four tenths of Piastri. "I've felt confident out there pretty much all weekend. FP1 was an experience for us all I think, it felt more like a rally car than an F1 car," said Piastri. "But from then on, I've felt really comfortable with the car. FP3 we had good pace. In qualifying, the others caught up a little bit closer than what I wanted but I still delivered the laps when it mattered, which was the most important thing at the end. So very happy." Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player Oscar Piastri secures pole position for the Bahrain Grand Prix, with George Russell in second and Charles Leclerc third Verstappen rescued a frustrating session in seventh having suffered from brake issues which may have been created by a set-up change. It looked like Tsunoda was going to outqualify the Dutchman but the Japanese driver had to settle for 10th, although will be relieved to reach Q3, which is the first time Verstappen's team-mate has done so in 2025. Hamilton had another disappointing qualifying for the second weekend running as he trailed team-mate Leclerc by 0.597s. Ferrari brought a new floor to Bahrain but it does not seem to have given Hamilton the same confidence Leclerc has. Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player Sky Sports F1's Martin Brundle breaks down the best chances of winning the Bahrain Grand Prix Sunday April 13 10.50am: F3 Feature Race 12.20pm: F2 Feature Race 2.30pm: Bahrain GP build-up: Grand Prix Sunday 4pm: THE BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX 6pm: Bahrain GP reaction: Chequered Flag 7pm: Ted's Notebook Formula 1 continues its triple-header in Sakhir at the Bahrain Grand Prix this weekend, live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports with NOW - no contract, cancel anytime.