Piastri third, Verstappen takes pole with Norris second

But Verstappen is the one who’s charging. “Let’s f****** go!” he declared jubilantly on the radio as he celebrated his pole lap.

Earlier, Piastri had only finished fifth in final practice, while Norris was second and Verstappen third, behind George Russell.

Mercedes’ Russell went on to finish fourth in qualifying ahead of Charles Leclerc, whose ailing Ferrari teammate Lewis Hamilton suffered another dispiriting day, crashing in final practice before getting knocked out of Q1, meaning he’ll be starting from 16th on Sunday.

“Every time, mate, I am so sorry,” said Hamilton on the radio after Leclerc out-qualified him for the 19th time in 24 appearances this season.

AAP