Piastri earns pole position at Spanish GP ahead of McLaren teammate Norris

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Max Verstappen has his work cut out to keep his Spanish Grand Prix streak going after Oscar Piastri claimed pole position ahead of McLaren teammate Lando Norris on Saturday.

The McLaren lockout of the front row gives the papaya-colored cars a big advantage over Verstappen, whose Red Bull will start Sunday's race from third on the grid.

New rules for stiffer front wings in the race appeared to have zero impact on McLaren's speed over a single lap. Verstappen was never at the top of the time charts in the final session of qualifying, which turned into another duel between the McLarens.

Points leader Piastri was behind Norris until he peeled off a blistering final effort and grabbed the edge on the starting grid.

The race promises to be an equally scintillating fight between the teammates who have won six of the first eight races of the season and put Verstappen's grip on F1 in jeopardy. Piastri leads Norris by three points in the standings through the first third of the season.

“It is going to be tough tomorrow,” Verstappen said. “That doesn’t mean we are not going to try.”

It was the Australian’s fourth pole of the season. Piastri leads the field with four race victories, although Verstappen and Norris have topped the last two grands prix.

Piastri won from pole position in China and Bahrain, while he also pipped a pole-sitting Verstappen to win in Saudi Arabia and Miami. His only blemish was losing to Verstappen after taking pole in Imola two rounds ago.

The sensation of the F1 season blazed to a pace-setting lap in Spain that was two-tenths faster than Norris. Now he must make good on that by protecting his advantage on the long run from the starting grid to the first right-hand corner.

“It has been a good weekend so far. The car has been mega, and glad to put in some good laps as well,” Piastri said. “It is a long way to Turn 1 so I got to make sure I make a good start.”

Norris knows how difficult that can be. He took the pole last year, only for Verstappen to sweep past him at the start and hold on to win the race for a fourth time overall.

“It is normally interesting, and we have a lot of quick guys behind us," Norris.

Right behind Verstappen, Mercedes' George Russell and Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton start from fourth and fifth.

Verstappen, who is 25 points off Piastri’s lead, has won at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya for the past three years.

But when asked if he hoped to be closer to his McLaren rivals during qualifying, Verstappen responded with a terse “No.”

“We were lacking all weekend compared to them,” Verstappen said. “I’m here, squeezing everything out of the car. We had a decent Friday, made some final changes to the car but it wasn’t enough to challenge for the pole.”

Verstappen had pointed to Barcelona as another race in which he hoped to challenge the McLarens following his win in Italy two rounds ago, and Red Bull boss Christian Horner said his team needed to stay close to the front-runners to have a chance to make gains later in the season.

The four-time world champion now has to get by both McLarens and hold them off if he wants to cut into their leads.

Yuki Tsunoda bottomed out for Red Bull and had the slowest time in the opening segment of qualifying. The Japanese driver will start from last place in a big blow for Verstappen’s new teammate.

Carlos Sainz also got culled early and will start from 18th in his Williams. That was the Spaniard’s worst qualifying result of the season.

Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli clocked the sixth best time, followed by Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, Alpine's Pierre Gasly, and Racing Bulls rookie Isack Hadjar.

Home favorite Fernando Alonso closed out the top 10 for Aston Martin.

There was a lot of talk in the paddock this week ahead of F1 reducing the flexibility of the car's front wings, which at high speed can reduce the effect of drag on a car.

But the change didn't lead to any shakeup of the pecking order — and earned the scorn of seven-time world champion Hamilton.

“It’s just wasted everyone’s money,” Hamilton said. “It’s literally changed nothing. Everyone’s wings still bend."

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

McLaren driver Oscar Piastri of Australia celebrates his pole position after the qualifying session ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix Formula One race at the Barcelona Catalunya racetrack in Montmelo, near Barcelona, Spain, Saturday, May 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)

McLaren driver Oscar Piastri of Australia, centre, celebrates his pole position with McLaren driver Lando Norris of Britain, left, and Red Bull driver Max Verstappen of the Netherlands after the qualifying session ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix Formula One race at the Barcelona Catalunya racetrack in Montmelo, near Barcelona, Spain, Saturday, May 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)

McLaren driver Oscar Piastri of Australia steers his car to parc ferme after the qualifying session ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix Formula One race at the Barcelona Catalunya racetrack in Montmelo, near Barcelona, Spain, Saturday, May 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)

McLaren driver Oscar Piastri of Australia celebrates his pole position after the qualifying session ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix Formula One race at the Barcelona Catalunya racetrack in Montmelo, near Barcelona, Spain, Saturday, May 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)

McLaren driver Oscar Piastri of Australia steers his car during the qualifying session ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix Formula One race at the Barcelona Catalunya racetrack in Montmelo, near Barcelona, Spain, Saturday, May 31, 2025. (Juan Medina/Pool Photo via AP)

McLaren driver Lando Norris of Britain steers his car during the third free practice ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix Formula One race at the Barcelona Catalunya racetrack in Montmelo, near Barcelona, Spain, Saturday, May 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)

McLaren driver Oscar Piastri of Australia gets pushed back into his garage during the qualifying session ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix Formula One race at the Barcelona Catalunya racetrack in Montmelo, near Barcelona, Spain, Saturday, May 31, 2025. (Juan Medina/Pool Photo via AP)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran wants to negotiate with Washington after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic over its bloody crackdown on protesters, a move coming as activists said Monday the death toll in the nationwide demonstrations rose to at least 544.

Iran had no immediate reaction to the news, which came after the foreign minister of Oman — long an interlocutor between Washington and Tehran — traveled to Iran this weekend. It also remains unclear just what Iran could promise, particularly as Trump has set strict demands over its nuclear program and its ballistic missile arsenal, which Tehran insists is crucial for its national defense.

Meanwhile Monday, Iran called for pro-government demonstrators to head to the streets in support of the theocracy, a show of force after days of protests directly challenging the rule of 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian state television aired chants from the crowd, who shouted “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!”

Trump and his national security team have been weighing a range of potential responses against Iran including cyberattacks and direct strikes by the U.S. or Israel, according to two people familiar with internal White House discussions who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

“The military is looking at it, and we’re looking at some very strong options,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night. Asked about Iran’s threats of retaliation, he said: “If they do that, we will hit them at levels that they’ve never been hit before.”

Trump said that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act first as reports of the death toll in Iran mount and the government continues to arrest protesters.

“I think they’re tired of being beat up by the United States,” Trump said. “Iran wants to negotiate.”

He added: “The meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting. But a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to negotiate.”

Iran through country's parliamentary speaker warned Sunday that the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America uses force to protect demonstrators.

More than 10,600 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests, said the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in previous unrest in recent years and gave the death toll. It relies on supporters in Iran crosschecking information. It said 496 of the dead were protesters and 48 were with security forces.

With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the toll. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.

Those abroad fear the information blackout is emboldening hard-liners within Iran’s security services to launch a bloody crackdown. Protesters flooded the streets in the country’s capital and its second-largest city on Saturday night into Sunday morning. Online videos purported to show more demonstrations Sunday night into Monday, with a Tehran official acknowledging them in state media.

In Tehran, a witness told the AP that the streets of the capital empty at the sunset call to prayers each night. By the Isha, or nighttime prayer, the streets are deserted.

Part of that stems from the fear of getting caught in the crackdown. Police sent the public a text message that warned: “Given the presence of terrorist groups and armed individuals in some gatherings last night and their plans to cause death, and the firm decision to not tolerate any appeasement and to deal decisively with the rioters, families are strongly advised to take care of their youth and teenagers.”

Another text, which claimed to come from the intelligence arm of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, also directly warned people not to take part in demonstrations.

“Dear parents, in view of the enemy’s plan to increase the level of naked violence and the decision to kill people, ... refrain from being on the streets and gathering in places involved in violence, and inform your children about the consequences of cooperating with terrorist mercenaries, which is an example of treason against the country,” the text warned.

The witness spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing crackdown.

The demonstrations began Dec. 28 over the collapse of the Iranian rial currency, which trades at over 1.4 million to $1, as the country’s economy is squeezed by international sanctions in part levied over its nuclear program. The protests intensified and grew into calls directly challenging Iran’s theocracy.

Nikhinson reported from aboard Air Force One.

In this frame grab from video obtained by the AP outside Iran, a masked demonstrator holds a picture of Iran's Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi during a protest in Tehran, Iran, Friday, January. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)

In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran shows protesters taking to the streets despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.(UGC via AP)

In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran showed protesters once again taking to the streets of Tehran despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Saturday Jan. 10, 2026. (UGC via AP)