The final phase of qualifying was halted, with only Piastri and Haas' Nico Hulkenberg having set times, when Sainz slammed backwards into the barriers at the final corner as he prepared to start his flying lap.
Leclerc was 11 seconds clear with seven laps to go and 8.3 ahead with five remaining as the massed ranks of 'tifosi' willed him on.
McLaren's Lando Norris took pole position for the Qatar Grand Prix sprint on Friday with Mercedes' George Russell denying the Formula One leaders a front row.
The pole was Leclerc's seventh of the season and 16th of his career.
Lando Norris roared to his second successive pole position, and third in four races, in a McLaren front row sweep with team mate Oscar Piastri
McLaren could clinch their first constructors' crown since 1998 on Sunday if they outscore Ferrari by 21 points at the Qatar F1 Grand Prix.
Seven times world champion Lewis Hamilton was seventh for Mercedes and Lance Stroll collected the final point for Aston Martin.
Hamilton said he had not been feeling well on Thursday and Friday, when he was also up until midnight working with his engineers.
Sebastian Vettel blamed Red Bull's Max Verstappen on Sunday for a Japanese Grand Prix tangle that dealt a huge blow to the Ferrari driver's fading Formula One title hopes.
Mondo Duplantis was named the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year, while American gymnast Simone Biles bagged the top women's honour at the Laureus World Sports Awards.
Formula One is braced for the next episode of the Max Verstappen show as Red Bull's teen sensation heads for Ferrari's home circuit only days after making the Italian team's drivers see red. While triple world champion Lewis Hamilton is aiming for his 50th grand prix win on Sunday, to become the first since Argentine Juan Manuel Fangio in the 1950s to win three years in a row at Monza, Verstappen will be the talk of the town.
Mercedes' George Russell celebrated a surprise Austrian Grand Prix win on Sunday after Red Bull's triple world champion Max Verstappen and McLaren's Lando Norris collided late in the race
The world of esports came to the rescue in the absence of a race in Melbourne or indeed of any single-seater series with the Formula E and IndyCar calendars also ravaged by the fast-spreading virus. Red Bull's Verstappen finished 11th in an 'All-star Esports battle' while McLaren's Norris finished sixth in another virtual race.
Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton was fastest but teenage rookie Max Verstappen stood out with an eye-catching practice performance on a rainy Thursday at the Monaco Grand Prix.
Lewis Hamilton will bring down the curtain on his Mercedes career in Abu Dhabi on Sunday as his past and future Formula One teams, McLaren and Ferrari, fight for a constructors' title to end years of waiting.
Red Bull's Max Verstappen celebrated his first Formula One pole position at the Hungarian Grand Prix on Saturday.
Sebastian Vettel lost his second-place finish after being disqualified by stewards for a fuel irregularity.
It is doubtful there has been a more popular winner of a Formula One race in recent years than McLaren's Lando Norris, who was celebrated by everyone from Max Verstappen to Donald Trump following his victory at the Miami Grand Prix on Sunday.
Australian Daniel Ricciardo won the Italian Grand Prix in a stunning McLaren one-two with Lando Norris at Monza on Sunday.
Sainz took the first pole position of his Formula One career in a wet qualifying for the British Grand Prix
Red Bull suffered a second trophy malfunction in a week on Sunday after the one handed to the winning constructor at the Belgian Grand Prix was broken after a celebratory team photograph.
Following's Verstappen's 2021 title win, here's a list of F1 champions over the years...
But, even as Max Verstappen celebrated and Lewis Hamilton came to terms with defeat, the Briton's Mercedes team lodged two safety-car related protests.
Mercedes driver George Russell has been disqualified and lost his Belgium Grand Prix win on Sunday, after his car was found to be underweight, and his teammate Lewis Hamilton was promoted to first place.
Austria to stay on Formula One calendar until 2027.
It was Hamilton's first pole position since Saudi Arabia in December 2021.
Leclerc took pole in Monaco in 2021, but did not start the race due to a driveshaft failure, and 2022 when he ended up fourth.
Lando Norris capitalised on a bit of good fortune to win the Miami Grand Prix on Sunday
Germany's Nico Rosberg set the fastest time in qualifying on Saturday to seize pole position for the Belgian Formula One Grand Prix.
Ferrari's Carlos Sainz won the Singapore Grand Prix on Sunday to end Formula One leader Max Verstappen's record run of 10 wins in a row.
George Russell led Lewis Hamilton in a Mercedes front-row lockout in qualifying for the British Grand Prix on Saturday with McLaren's Lando Norris completing a rare one-two-three of home drivers.
Rishabh Pant has been nominated for the prestigious Laureus World Comeback of the Year Award.
Dutch teenager Max Verstappen has won Formula One's Driver of the Day award for the third time in nine races after finishing second for Red Bull in Austria on Sunday.
A widely-circulated anonymous email put fresh focus on recent allegations of misconduct toward a female colleague.
Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel, the Briton's closest rival, finished only sixth after an early collision with Red Bull's Max Verstappen left the German fighting back from 19th place.
'The phenomenal Max Verstappen was both sloppy and superb in Germany, getting caught out during the first two starts, and even spinning his car around to give the crowd something to gasp at with a Batmobile-esque 360 degree turn. 'After Hamilton crashed and Verstappen sniffed victory, though, he pounced hard, put his foot down, and took a deserved race win,' says Rediff's F1 columnist Raja Sen.
Mercedes driver and seven times world champion Hamilton told reporters Marko's words were "not something that you just apologise (for) and it's all OK".
Verstappen's hopes of a record-extending 11th successive victory looked a long shot on a city circuit where overtaking is never easy.
Enduring a dismal season this year, defending champion Sumit Nagal Monday began his campaign at the USD 150,000 Bengaluru Open with a bang by defeating last year's finalist Briton's Jay Clarke in the opening round.
Daniel Ricciardo dashed Red Bull team mate Max Verstappen's hopes of becoming Formula One's youngest ever pole-sitter on Saturday while championship leader Lewis Hamilton qualified third for Mercedes at the Mexican Grand Prix. Hamilton, who need only finish seventh on Sunday to secure his fifth title with two races to spare, will have Ferrari rival Sebastian Vettel alongside on the second row.
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