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.
Red Bull make changes to car after discussions with FIA
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.
Red Bull's four-times World champion Max Verstappen gave his fans fresh hope -- at least for some of the afternoon -- with a stirring and spirited fightback at Interlagos.
Gauff is a fan favourite in Melbourne
Verstappen, who had started alongside Norris on the front row, was leading by lap three and could then build a buffer and take control.
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.
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.
Red Bull are concerned about their constructors' title defence being weakened at a time when McLaren are emerging as a threat
Bangladesh and the Netherlands have booked two of the four available spots at the ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2026.
George Russell wins F1's Singapore GP as McLaren secures constructors' title
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 capitalised on a bit of good fortune to win the Miami Grand Prix on Sunday
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.
IMAGES from Day 4 of the matches played at the Australian Open at Melbourne Park on Wednesday.
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.
Rafael Nadal's preparations for his Australian Open title defence got off to a wobbly start as Cameron Norrie handed him a 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 defeat in the United Cup on Saturday to give Britain a 1-0 lead.
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.
'Honestly, for P8 or P9 it doesn't matter. These are things we agree on internally, and this time it didn't happen.'
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.
'I'm just glad to overcome today's challenge in straight sets and move on.'
Verstappen collided with Leclerc and twice with Mercedes' George Russell after the safety car restart.
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.
The Serbian's determined performance ensured he became only the second man to win a century of matches at the Parisian Grand Slam
Alcaraz ends Tarvet fairytale to reach Wimbledon third round
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.
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.
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.
Verstappen starts new Red Bull era with Spa sprint win
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.
The world number five Spaniard has won 15 straight matches since returning from a foot issue that sidelined him for nearly six months last year.
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.
The Australian Open champion never faced a break point and used her hard and accurate serve to dispatch Gauff.
Australian Piastri, winner of four of the last five races, lapped the Imola circuit with a fastest time of one minute 16.545 seconds on the softest tyre compound with Norris 0.032 slower on a sunny afternoon.
Max Verstappen celebrated Red Bull's 400th Formula One race with a fourth win in a row at Imola on Sunday.
Days after the Red Bull driver and partner Kelly Piquet welcomed daughter Lily, his first child, the four-times champion set a blistering lap of one minute 26.204 seconds around the Hard Rock Stadium.
McLaren's Oscar Piastri celebrated his 50th Formula One race with a pole-to-flag win in Bahrain on Sunday that sent him second overall.
