Piastri now leads Britain's Norris by 14 points with five rounds and two sprints remaining, while Verstappen has slashed his gap to the Australian to 40 after being 104 behind at the end of August.
Norris's teammate Oscar Piastri, who spun off and finished ninth in his home race last Sunday after starting on the front row and challenging for the lead, has another good chance to rev up his season.
With eight points on offer to the winner of Saturday's 100km race, he and Norris -- 22 points behind Piastri -- both have a good chance to reduce the gap to the Australian who was three tenths slower than his teammate.
The reason for doing so was not disclosed in the statement.
IMAGES from Day 4 of the matches played at the Australian Open at Melbourne Park on Wednesday.
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.
McLaren's Lando Norris dominated the Singapore Grand Prix from start to finish on Sunday to take another chunk out of Max Verstappen's Formula One championship lead.
Charles Leclerc won the US Grand Prix in a Ferrari one-two with Carlos Sainz on Sunday as Formula One championship leader Max Verstappen dealt Lando Norris a significant setback in their title battle.
Lando Norris won the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Sunday to deliver McLaren's first Formula One constructors' title since 1998
A fired-up Max Verstappen ended his barren run as he outclassed the McLarens to register a dominant victory at the Italian Grand Prix in Monza on Sunday.
McLaren's Lando Norris took an emphatic pole position at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix on Sunday after Red Bull rival Max Verstappen qualified only 17th in a wet and crash-strewn session at Interlagos.
McLaren's Lando Norris took a commanding Dutch Grand Prix victory on Sunday.
George Russell wins F1's Singapore GP as McLaren secures constructors' title
Leading international cricketers, including Laura Wolvaardt and India's World Cup hero Deepti Sharma, will go under the hammer at the Women's Premier League auction in Delhi on Thursday, with bidding wars also expected for homegrown Kranti Gaud and Shree Charani.
Red Bull's Verstappen, who had been on pole at Zandvoort every year since the circuit returned in 2021 and has yet to be beaten there, will still line up alongside the Briton on the front row.
McLaren's Lando Norris hailed the best qualifying lap of his career after beating F1 leader Max Verstappen to pole position at the US Grand Prix.
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.
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
Red Bull's Max Verstappen secured a dominant win from pole position in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku, leading the race from start to finish.
Lando Norris put McLaren on pole position for the Spanish Grand Prix on Saturday
Red Bull make changes to car after discussions with FIA
Verstappen, who had started alongside Norris on the front row, was leading by lap three and could then build a buffer and take control.
Red Bull are concerned about their constructors' title defence being weakened at a time when McLaren are emerging as a threat
'Honestly, for P8 or P9 it doesn't matter. These are things we agree on internally, and this time it didn't happen.'
Charles Leclerc stunned favourites McLaren by seizing pole position at the Hungarian Grand Prix on Saturday as Ferrari teammate Lewis Hamilton described himself as useless and suggested he should be replaced.
Novak Djokovic's battling victory under the lights of Arthur Ashe Stadium made him the oldest man to reach the last 16 at the US Open.
Red Bull's reigning champion Max Verstappen will join the Australian on the front row.
Verstappen is third overall in the standings, 61 points behind Piastri who leads Norris by 15, and chasing his third win of the campaign to make up for retirement in Austria last weekend.
Lando Norris capitalised on a bit of good fortune to win the Miami Grand Prix on Sunday
Present rivalries and past collisions hang over Red Bull's home Austrian Grand Prix as Formula One braces for the next round of Max Verstappen v George Russell and more title-chasing drama at McLaren.
Verstappen collided with Leclerc and twice with Mercedes' George Russell after the safety car restart.
Alcaraz ends Tarvet fairytale to reach Wimbledon third round
The Serbian's determined performance ensured he became only the second man to win a century of matches at the Parisian Grand Slam
Verstappen starts new Red Bull era with Spa sprint win
George Russell took Mercedes' first win of the Formula One season in Canada on Sunday while McLaren's Oscar Piastri went 22 points clear in the championship after teammate Lando Norris smashed into him and retired.
Novak Djokovic moved to the brink of his 100th tour-level title after recovering from a second-set blip to beat British qualifier Cameron Norrie 6-4, 6-7(6), 6-1 in the Geneva Open semi-finals on Friday.
The win from fourth on the grid was Australian Oscar Piastri's third in a row, after Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, and fourth of the season. McLaren have so far been beaten only once.
F1 leader Oscar Piastri seized pole position from teammate and title rival Lando Norris by a hefty margin as dominant McLaren locked out the front row in Spanish Grand Prix.
Leclerc brought out the red flags when he hit the wall at the second chicane with 45 minutes remaining, causing extensive damage to his Ferrari.
Britain's Cameron Norrie fought back from a set down to beat world number two Carlos Alcaraz 5-7, 6-4, 7-5 in the Rio Open final on Sunday.
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