Max Verstappen takes pole in Saudi Arabian qualifying after Lando Norris crashes

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Lando Norris showed just how fine the margins can be when he crashed while chasing pole position at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. Max Verstappen stayed just the right side of the limit.

Formula 1 champion Verstappen will start at the front of the grid after the crash by standings leader Norris on Saturday.

Red Bull's Verstappen beat McLaren driver Oscar Piastri's time by .01 of a second on his final run to take pole for Sunday's race. George Russell was third fastest for Mercedes, .113 off the pace.

“I definitely didn't expect to be on pole here,” said Verstappen, who was coming off a difficult race last week in Bahrain amid speculation over his future with Red Bull.

He said “the car came alive" ahead of qualifying after some setup changes, but played down expectations he could turn the pole position into a win, as he did at the Japanese Grand Prix.

“It’s really satisfying," Verstappen said. "To be first there in qualifying is of course the best position for tomorrow, even though I think tomorrow in the race it will be tough to keep them behind, but we’re going to give it a good go.”

Verstappen struggled with overheating in his tires and brakes in Bahrain and was off the pace in the hotter daytime practice sessions in Saudi Arabia. Sunday's race is at night, like qualifying, but Verstappen said he was unsure how the Red Bull car would react to heat building up over the longer distance.

Verstappen was helped in Japan by a track design which makes overtaking difficult. He kept Norris and Piastri behind him throughout that race. The Jeddah track has three zones where drivers can use the DRS overtaking aid, against just one in Japan, something which Piastri said was “a nice difference.”

Verstappen has won two of the four F1 races in Saudi Arabia. Three of the races were won by the driver on pole.

Russell said his and Verstappen's hopes rested on keeping Piastri from getting ahead at the start and controlling the pace, as he did on his way to winning in Bahrain.

“Max and I were just talking now. We both recognize McLaren are other standout favorites and definitely have the the pace on everybody else,” Russell said. “If Oscar gets into the lead you’ll probably see a repeat of Bahrain. If we stay in the order we've qualified, it could be a tight race until the pit stops.”

Norris qualified 10th because of his crash. He had not set a time in the third part of qualifying when he lost control over a curb and ran wide into the wall on the exit of the corner, breaking his car’s suspension. That brought out the red flag, stopping the session until the McLaren could be removed.

Norris, who was checked over at the medical center, said he was “just disappointed” and would try to target a top-five finish on Sunday, in comments to broadcaster Sky Sports.

“I'm going to go and see my engineers and apologize and then see what we can do for tomorrow,” he said. “Tomorrow's going to need a bit of luck.”

Norris has a three-point lead over his McLaren teammate Piastri after four races, but has said he doesn't feel confident in the car and isn't able to drive at his best. Verstappen is eight points off the lead.

It was a mixed picture for Ferrari as Charles Leclerc qualified fourth and Lewis Hamilton was seventh. Hamilton was nearly eliminated in the second part of qualifying, making it into the top-10 shootout only by .007 of a second.

Yuki Tsunoda qualified eighth for his third race as Verstappen's teammate since replacing Liam Lawson at Red Bull.

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

McLaren driver Lando Norris' car is carried out of the track after crashing during the qualifying session ahead of the Formula One Saudi Arabian Grand Prix at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Saturday, April 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen of the Netherlands, center, pole position, is flanked by McLaren driver Oscar Piastri of Australia, left, second fastest time and Mercedes driver George Russell of Britain, third fastest time after the qualifying session ahead of the Formula One Saudi Arabian Grand Prix at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Saturday, April 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen of the Netherlands, pole position, left, cheers with McLaren driver Oscar Piastri of Australia, second fastest time, after the qualifying session ahead of the Formula One Saudi Arabian Grand Prix at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Saturday, April 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen of the Netherlands thumbs up after setting the pole position in the qualifying session ahead of the Formula One Saudi Arabian Grand Prix at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Saturday, April 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen of the Netherlands steers his car during the qualifying session ahead of the Formula One Saudi Arabian Grand Prix at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Saturday, April 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)

McLaren driver Lando Norris of Britain steers his car during the qualifying session ahead of the Formula One Saudi Arabian Grand Prix at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Saturday, April 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)

NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. stock market is falling from its records Friday and joining a worldwide drop for stocks, as higher oil prices send a shiver through the bond market. Stocks that had been caught up in the euphoria around artificial-intelligence technology led the way lower.

The S&P 500 fell 1.1% from its all-time high set the day before. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 408 points, or 0.8%, as of 9:35 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was down 1.6% from its own record.

Technology stocks tumbled in a sharp turnaround from their meteoric rises for much of the year, which had carried markets worldwide to records but also raised criticism that they had gone too far.

Nvidia, the stock that quickly became the face of the AI revolution, dropped 3.6% and was the heaviest weight on the S&P 500. It had come into the day with a gain of more than 26% for the year so far.

“To us, it looks like markets have pushed into overbought territory,” according to Brian Jacobsen, chief economic strategist at Annex Wealth Management. He said the strong corporate profits and durable U.S. economy that launched U.S. stocks to records remain intact, but “the path is unlikely to be smooth. Periods like this call for discipline more than hope.”

In the meantime, rising oil prices are raising the pressure after already sending inflation higher than economists had feared. The war with Iran is continuing, and the Strait of Hormuz remains shut to oil tankers, which is preventing them from delivering crude to customers worldwide and driving up oil’s price.

The price for a barrel of Brent crude oil, the international standard, rose 2.1% to $107.97 and is well above its level of roughly $70 from before the war.

Many big U.S. companies have been saying their customers have been able to keep spending on their products and services despite having to pay higher prices for gasoline. But U.S. households have also been telling surveys they’re feeling discouraged about the economy and the pressures building not only because of the war but also because of tariffs.

The worries were most clear Friday in the bond market, where Treasury yields climbed. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.56% from 4.47% late Thursday. That’s a notable move for the bond market, and it’s well above its 3.97% level from before the war. The yield on the 30-year Treasury is close to its highest level since 2023 after breaking above 5%.

Higher yields can make mortgages and other kinds of loans going to U.S. households and businesses more expensive, which slows the economy. They also tend to push downward on prices for stocks and all kinds of other investments.

Yields have been climbing since the war on worries about higher inflation and how it may tie the Federal Reserve’s hands when it comes to short-term interest rates. Not only have traders abandoned virtually all expectations that the Fed will resume its cuts to interest rates this year, they’ve been building some bets that it may even hike rates in 2026, according to data from CME Group.

In stock markets abroad, indexes fell sharply across Europe and Asia.

South Korea’s Kospi dropped 6.1% for one of the sharpest moves. It had been reaching records this year because of the influence of AI beneficiaries like SK Hynix. But it quickly reversed momentum Friday after briefly topping the 8.000 level for the first time.

Some on Wall Street have been warning about a possible break in momentum for tech stocks in general and AI winners in particular.

“If nothing else this should be a ‘shot across the bow’ for how volatility works both ways,” according to Jonathan Krinsky, chief market technician at BTIG.

AP Business Writer Chan Ho-him contributed.

Trader Patrick Casey works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday, May 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

President Donald Trump, left, walks with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Temple of Heaven on Thursday May 14, 2026, in Beijing. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

A dealer stands near the screens showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), and the Korean Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (KOSDAQ) at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, May 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Employees of Hana Bank celebrate in a photo-op to mark the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) of over 8,000 points at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, May 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)