Piastri’s teammate, championship leader Lando Norris, crashed in the top 10 shoot-out and will start on the fifth row of Sunday’s race.
Four-time world champion Verstappen was in unstoppable form under the floodlights on the high-speed Jeddah Corniche Circuit, grabbing the front of the grid by one hundredth of a second.
It was a huge turnaround for the Dutchman after he and his Red Bull team had struggled in Bahrain last weekend.
“Very happy! I definitely didn’t expect to be on pole here,” said a beaming Verstappen.
“The car came alive in the night, we made some final changes and it was more enjoyable to drive, the grip was coming to me.
“I think tomorrow in the race, it will be tough to keep them (McLaren) behind, but we’ll give it a good go,” he added.
Norris leads the drivers’ standings by three points from Piastri with Verstappen five points back ahead of this fifth round of the 24-race season.
George Russell sets off on the second row in his Mercedes alongside the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc.
Kimi Antonelli in the other Mercedes is on the third row with Carlos Sainz in a Williams.
Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton, Yuki Tsunoda in the second Red Bull, Alpine’s Pierre Gasly and Norris completed the top 10. (AFP)
