Oscar Piastri won a comfortable pole position in qualifying for the Bahrain Grand Prix as both Mercedes cars were slapped with one-place grid penalties after the session.
The Mclaren pair have emerged as two title favourites in the early stages of the season. They have won one race each in the opening three rounds of the year as the Papaya outfit storm ahead in Constructor standings, already leading second-placed Mercedes by 36 points.
Norris was well behind his teammate, though, with a gap of over four-tenths of a second to Piastri.
Mercedes’ George Russell and Kimi Antonelli were both hit with grid penalties after the session, having qualified second and fourth, respectively. Both cars were convicted of ‘pit lane infringements’ after being released from the garage too soon before the red flags caused by Esteban Ocon’s accident were lifted.
Both cars were handed a one-place grid penalty, dropping Russell to third and Antonelli to fifth. Charles Leclerc was promoted to second as a result, and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly to fourth.
Red Bull's Max Verstappen was seventh after reporting a "terrible" problem with his brakes, which he had been struggling with throughout practice sessions, and seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton was ninth for Ferrari.
Ocon suffered a heavy crash in his Haas in Q2, causing a lengthy delay as stewards tidied the wreckage. He found himself caught on the kerb early in a flying lap, spinning backwards into the barriers, though the Frenchman signaled to the team he was not hurt in the incident.
Haas are yet to confirm the full extent of the damage, and Ocon may be forced to serve a grid penalty for tomorrow’s race should his gearbox need replacing.
Verstappen is one point behind standings leader Norris after winning the Japanese Grand Prix last week.
Additional reporting: AP
