F1 – Norris outpaces home hero Verstappen to claim pole for Dutch Grand Prix

Lando Norris delivered a blistering final flying lap in qualifying at Zandvoort to deny home hero Max Verstappen a fourth straight Dutch Grand pole position. Oscar Piastri finished third in the closely contested session and will start ahead of Mercedes’ George Russell on the second row of the grid.

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At the start of Q1 it was Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll who was quickly into the groove, with the Canadian taking top spot ahead of Williams’ Alex Albon and Red Bull’s Sergio Pérez. Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton then eclipsed all three as Norris appeared for the first time in P2 ahead of Verstappen.

In the closing stages Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz jumped to P1 and was then displaced by Mercedes’ George Russell. Further back, Pérez was on track and seeking a significant improvement in order jump up from P16 and out of the drop zone. The Mexican made the most of the improving track and in the final moments he vaulted to top spot with a lap of 1:11.006, 0.043s ahead of Russell and more than three tenths clear of Sainz.

Ruled out at the end of Q1 were RB’s Daniel Ricciardo in P16, Alpine’s Esteban Ocon, the Kick Sauber cars of Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu, and Sargeant who failed to make it out on track in Q1 following a heavy crash in FP3.

Sainz and Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc were first out on track at the start of Q2 and it was Leclerc who set the early pace on 1:11.665, just under two tenths of his team-mate. Piastri moved to the top of the order with his first flyer of 1:10.505 a second clear of Leclerc but the Australian was edged out of top spot by Norris who posted a time of 1:10.496. And when Russell slotted into third place, Verstappen’s first flyer of 1:10.811 left him in fourth place.

Comfortable with their opening runs, the top four drivers chose to sit out the final flyers and it was only Verstappen’s confidence that was dented, with the Dutchman demoted to P8 as Stroll claimed P4 ahead of Pérez, Leclerc and Williams’ Alex Albon.

The big fallers at this stage were Sainz and Hamilton who exited in the session in 11^th and 12h respectively, ahead of fellow fallers Yuki Tsunoda of RB and the Haas pairing of Hülkenberg and Magnussen.

At the start of Q3, it was Norris who seized provisional pole, with the McLaren driver setting a benchmark of 1:10.074, 0.119s clear of Piastri. Verstappen, who hit the kerbs hard enough in Turns 11 and 12 to ask for his floor to be checked on his return to the garage, took third place 0.148s off Norris’ P1 time.

Verstappen then sent the Dutch fans wild with a final flyer that sent him to top of the order, but Norris had pace in hand and after a session-best sector 1 time the McLaren driver delivered improvements in the final sectors to claim pole a significant three tenths ahead of Verstappen.

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