Verstappen, who had started alongside Norris on the front row, was leading by lap three and could then build a buffer and take control.
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.
Red Bull's Max Verstappen started the season with a commanding Bahrain Grand Prix win from pole position.
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 roared to his second successive pole position, and third in four races, in a McLaren front row sweep with team mate Oscar Piastri
Verstappen took pole position for the Saudi Arabian Formula One Grand Prix on Friday with Ferrari's Charles Leclerc qualifying alongside on the front row.
The pole was the 26th of Charles Leclerc's career, and third of the season.
Max Verstappen won the first sprint race of the Formula One season at the Chinese Grand Prix on Saturday.
World champion Max Verstappen took the first pole position of the Formula One season in Bahrain on Friday.
Red Bull's triple world champion Max Verstappen followed up a Saturday sprint win with a statement pole position for Sunday's Austrian Grand Prix, with McLaren's Lando Norris again alongside on the front row.
Max Verstappen added his name to the list of triple Formula One World champions on Saturday after Red Bull team mate and sole title rival Sergio Perez crashed out of the Qatar Grand Prix sprint race.
Verstappen, who started sixth after a five-place grid penalty, extended his championship lead over Perez to 125 points after taking the chequered flag 22.3 seconds ahead of the Mexican.
Lando Norris capitalised on a bit of good fortune to win the Miami Grand Prix on Sunday
It was the first time Verstappen, winner of a record 19 of 22 races last year, has won the first two races of a season. He has also won 19 of the last 20.
Red Bull's Max Verstappen won a rain-delayed and shortened sprint race from pole position at the Belgian Grand Prix on Saturday to stretch his Formula One lead to 118 points.
Max Verstappen held off a late charge by McLaren's Lando Norris to win the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix
Red Bull's Max Verstappen sang "Viva Las Vegas" after racing to a record-extending 18th victory of the season and joining Sebastian Vettel in third place on Formula One's all-time winners' list.
Formula One leader Max Verstappen celebrated a record-equalling ninth successive victory on Sunday after beating the rain to win a chaotic and red-flagged Dutch Grand Prix for the third year in a row.
Formula One will have a record 24 races in the season that starts in Bahrain on Saturday.
Red Bull's triple World champion Max Verstappen claimed pole position on Saturday for the Miami Grand Prix, to start from the front of the grid for the sixth straight race this season.
Max Verstappen celebrated a record 10th win in a row by leading Red Bull team mate Sergio Perez one-two at Ferrari's home Italian Grand Prix
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.
Verstappen's hopes of a record-extending 11th successive victory looked a long shot on a city circuit where overtaking is never easy.
Max Verstappen leads Red Bull front row sweep in Bahrain
Max Verstappen became the first Formula One driver to take 16 victories in a season
Red Bull's triple World champion Max Verstappen wrapped up a year of unprecedented dominance with his record-extending 19th win in 22 races at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Sunday.
Max Verstappen took the 50th win of his Formula One career, and record-equalling 15th of the season
Ferrari's Carlos Sainz won the Australian Grand Prix on Sunday in a triumphant return two weeks after appendicitis surgery as Red Bull's World champion Max Verstappen suffered his first retirement in two years.
Max Verstappen took his fifth pole position in a row at the British Grand Prix.
Max Verstappen took pole position on Saturday in a wet qualifying for a Canadian Grand Prix
Dominant Formula One leader Max Verstappen ran away with the Hungarian Grand Prix by a mighty margin on Sunday as Red Bull made history with a record 12th victory in a row.
Formula One leader Max Verstappen won the British Grand Prix on Sunday as Red Bull stayed unbeaten in 2023 and equalled McLaren's 1988 record run of 11 victories in a row.
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc qualified fourth with Mexican Sergio Perez, Verstappen's closest title rival and team mate but a massive 151 points adrift after 15 of 22 rounds, fifth and 0.773 off his team mate's pace.
From the political maelstrom in Washington to the humanitarian disaster in Yemen to the deadly unrest along the Israel-Gaza border, photographers captured a world in turbulent transition.
Charles Leclerc put Ferrari on pole position for Sunday's US Grand Prix after Red Bull's triple Formula One world champion Max Verstappen had a faster lap deleted for exceeding track limits and dropped to sixth on the grid.
Max Verstappen led a soggy Monaco Grand Prix from start to finish on Sunday
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.
Red Bull's triple Formula One world champion Max Verstappen won a US Grand Prix sprint race from pole position on Saturday after an early challenge from Mercedes's Lewis Hamilton.
Carlos Sainz lapped Monza's "Temple of Speed" with a fastest time of one minute 20.294 seconds, 0.013 quicker than Max Verstappen's final flying lap.
Charles Leclerc swept to pole position for the Mexico City Formula One Grand Prix on Saturday with Carlos Sainz qualifying second in a surprise Ferrari front-row lockout.
