SHANGHAI Oscar Piastri narrowly got the better of Mercedes rival George Russell and McLaren teammate Lando Norris during qualifying for the Chinese Grand Prix, securing his first Formula 1 pole Saturday at the Shanghai Intl Circuit.

Piastri delivered a lap of one minute and 30.641 seconds to earn the top spot by less than a tenth of a second over Russell

I think with the new surface its extremely grippy, which for us is the best feeling in the world, Piastri explained. The only thing that comes with that is when you lose grip, it bites youve probably seen a lot of snaps, a lot of moments this weekend, and with the surface weve got its pretty tricky, but when you hook it up it feels pretty mega. Ill take the fastest lap of Shanghai.

Russell found a chunk of lap time with his final lap to the checkered flag, brilliantly securing a spot on the front row of the grid alongside Piastri.

Norris, who won the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, was third.

Reigning four-time World Champion Max Verstappen took fourth for Red Bull, with Ferrari drivers Lewis Hamilton, who won the Sprint Race, and Charles Leclerc completing the top six.