Oscar Piastri turned it around to take F1 Dutch GP pole in qualifying over Lando Norris by 0.012s, as Max Verstappen stepped up to third.
Qualifying –
Oscar Piastri has sealed pole position for the Dutch Grand Prix after beating McLaren team mate Lando Norris in a thrilling battle that played out through to the closing moments of Qualifying. While Norris had led the way during all three practice sessions throughout the weekend, Piastri laid down a gauntlet by going quickest in Q1. Norris then set the pace in Q2, culminating in a close scrap in Q3 that saw Piastri grab provisional pole with his effort of 1m 08.662s.
Norris tried to better this during the final runs but, with neither driver improving, the Briton had to settle for P2, with his time being just 0.012s adrift of his team mate’s. Max Verstappen, meanwhile, gave his home crowd something to cheer about by slotting his Red Bull into third. Isack Hadjar claimed an impressive career-best result of P4 in the Racing Bulls machine, putting himself ahead of Mercedes’ George Russell in P5 and the Ferrari pair of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton in P6 and P7 respectively.
Liam Lawson completed a double top-10 showing for Racing Bulls in eighth, with Williams’ Carlos Sainz and the Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso rounding out the order in ninth and 10th places. Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli just missed out on the top 10 shootout in P11, as was the case for Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda in P12. Gabriel Bortoleto claimed P13 for Kick Sauber, with Alpine’s Pierre Gasly joining him on the seventh row in P14.
Alex Albon, meanwhile, voiced his disappointment after being eliminated in 15th place, the Williams man having been left unhappy about his tyre struggles. Franco Colapinto missed the cut for Q2, the Alpine driver exiting Q1 in P16, while Kick Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg had another tough Qualifying down in P17. It was also a challenging day for Haas, with Esteban Ocon and Ollie Bearman ending the session down in 18th and 19th places, while Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll brings up the rear in P20, having been unable to rejoin following contact with the barriers early in Q1.
Practice, FP2 –
Lando Norris set the pace again in Free Practice 2 for the Dutch Grand Prix, with the session interrupted by two red flags. The McLaren driver, who trails team mate Oscar Piastri by nine points in the Drivers’ Championship, completed a clean sweep of fastest times on Friday while the session ended early for Lance Stroll and Alex Albon after crashes.
With conditions dry but the threat of rain looming, drivers immediately headed out on to the Zandvoort Circuit for crucial running, with Liam Lawson leading the train of cars out of the pit lane. Fastest in FP1, Norris continued his impressive Friday running by initially moving to the top of the times on a 1m 12.615s with the medium tyre, before being usurped by Spaniards Carlos Sainz and Fernando Alonso as drops of rain began to fall.
On his next flying lap, Norris became the first driver to dip below the 1m 12s mark, posting a 1m 11.294s as Stroll slotted into second, his Aston Martin team mate Alonso complaining over the radio after being held up by Kimi Antonelli’s Mercedes. The Kick Saubers of Gabriel Bortoleto and Nico Hulkenberg moved into second and third respectively with the soft Pirelli tyre, with home hero Max Verstappen posting the fourth fastest time, less than three-tenths slower than Norris on the medium rubber.
Approaching the 10-minute mark, Haas’ Oliver Bearman jumped to the top of the leaderboard with a 1m 11.113s just before a red flag was deployed after a heavy crash for Stroll at the banked Turn 3. With the Canadian reporting he was okay over the radio and the wreckage of his Aston Martin recovered, proceedings resumed with 39 minutes of the one-hour session remaining as several drivers ventured out, including Isack Hadjar.
The Racing Bulls driver had not left the pit lane due to a technical issue prior to the red flag, but was forced to come to a stop on his out-lap, with his car quickly recovered under a Virtual Safety Car. Hulkenberg moved to the top of the standings just past the halfway point on a 1m 11.080s with the help of soft tyres, as Lewis Hamilton suffered his second 360-degree spin of Friday on the exit of Turn 9, having set the fastest opening sector.
Lap times soon began to plummet as the sun broke through the clouds, Alonso posting a 1m 09.977s before Norris lowered the benchmark further to a 1m 09.890s, both drivers on a set of soft tyres. A second red flag was soon called with 21 minutes remaining, Albon having gone off at Turn 1 and after damaging his front wing against the barrier, the Williams became beached in the gravel.
The session resumed with 16 minutes remaining and as the threat of rain had diminished, drivers focused on race simulations with the order remaining as before the stoppage. It left Norris fastest, 0.087s clear of Alonso with Piastri third, the McLaren driver under investigation for a pit lane incident with George Russell as the pair made minor contact.
The Mercedes driver finished fourth from Verstappen, who was sixth-tenths away from Norris, as Hamilton, the second Red Bull of Yuki Tsunoda, Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), Franco Colapinto (Alpine) and Hulkenberg completed the top 10. Bearman finished 11th ahead of Antonelli, the Mercedes driver making up for lost time after crashing early on in FP1. Bortoleto led Lawson, Esteban Ocon (Haas) and Sainz (Williams), with Albon, Stroll, Pierre Gasly’s Alpine and the time-less Hadjar completing the order.
FP3 –
Lando Norris completed a clean sweep of fastest Free Practice times ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix, finishing more than two-tenths clear of McLaren team mate Oscar Piastri in the third session. The duo stamped their authority on proceedings ahead of Qualifying on Saturday afternoon, finishing well clear of the rest of the field, which was headed by George Russell and Carlos Sainz.
Heavy overnight rain left the track damp at the start of the one-hour session, with drivers in no rush to head out on to the Zandvoort Circuit for several minutes. Isack Hadjar was eventually the first to venture out, the Racing Bulls driver keen to make up for a lack of running in FP2 after coming to a stop on track with no laps under his belt.
But the Frenchman completed just one lap on the intermediate tyre before pitting, stating over the radio that “the track is very green” as Kimi Antonelli was the next to explore the circuit but on medium Pirelli rubber. Antonelli moved back to the top with a 1m 13.740s and times began to tumble with the majority of the field performing installation laps approaching the 10-minute mark, with Franco Colapinto and Gabriel Bortoleto both jumping to the head of the standings on the hard tyre.
Lance Stroll in his repaired Aston Martin – after a heavy shunt in FP2 which required a survival cell change overnight – became the first driver to use the soft tyre and set a sub 1m 12s time, registering a 1m 11.854s, which was quickly beaten by Antonelli and then Fernando Alonso, the latter with a 1m 11.082s. Friday pacesetter Norris set a new benchmark just after the 20-minute point, moving clear at the top of the times with a 1m 10.262s, with McLaren team mate Piastri less than one-tenth slower on his first lap with the soft tyre.
Max Verstappen moved back up to third with the medium compound, just over four-tenths slower than Norris as track conditions continued to improve approaching the halfway point, although free air was at a premium with 20 cars out on circuit. With his second set of soft tyres, Piastri moved to the top with a 1m 10.120s, the Australian showing himself to be consistently quicker than Norris in the opening sector before losing time over the remainder of the lap.
Qualifying simulations became the focus for all teams in the final 15 minutes, with Norris setting a new benchmark – a 1m 08.972s – which was comfortably quicker than any of his Friday efforts. Piastri was left trailing his team mate by more than two-tenths with his next effort, which proved to be the pair’s best laps. Verstappen’s first lap on softs left him nearly a full second slower than Norris, as Russell just slotted ahead of the Red Bull driver.
Russell then suffered a bizarre moment as he was nearly collected by the Aston Martin of Alonso at high-speed as both headed towards the pit lane entrance, with the incident placed under investigation. Sainz slotted his Williams ahead of Verstappen, with the home hero left in fifth from Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari and the second Williams of Alex Albon. Stroll, Hadjar and Alonso completed the top 10.
Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls), Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull) and Bortoleto (Kick Sauber) finished 11th-13th, with Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari only 14th. Oliver Bearman (Haas) and Hulkenberg finished ahead of Antonelli, who was blocked by Stroll and Tsunoda on his final lap. Esteban Ocon (Haas) finished ahead of the Alpine pair, led by Pierre Gasly and then Colapinto, ahead of Qualifying later this afternoon.
Fine for Mercedes: https://x.com/fiadocsbot/status/1961756149285331001
Here’s what drivers said after Friday in F1 Dutch GP
[The story is as per press release]
