Lando Norris has claimed pole position for the Dutch Grand Prix in a triumphant manner, as the British driver recorded a time that was over three tenths of a second faster than his closest rival, Max Verstappen.
After initially securing provisional pole position during the first runs in Q3, Norris went on to surpass his own performance by delivering an exceptional lap time of 1m 09.673s in his McLaren. This pushed Verstappen, who had briefly taken the top spot, down into second place, with a gap of 0.356s between them.
Oscar Piastri secured third place for McLaren, while George Russell was the highest-placed Mercedes driver in fourth position. Sergio Perez also had a better qualifying session compared to previous weekends, placing his Red Bull car in fifth.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc achieved the sixth fastest time, ahead of Fernando Alonso in the Aston Martin, who finished in seventh place. Alex Albon impressed with an eighth-place finish for Williams. Lance Stroll and Pierre Gasly completed the top-10 positions for Aston Martin and Alpine respectively.
There were a few unexpected departures in Q2, as Carlos Sainz faced difficulties in guiding his Ferrari through and ultimately finished in 11th place. Lewis Hamilton, who will be investigated for a potential obstruction incident with Perez in Q1, also made a surprising exit, finishing 12th for Mercedes.
Joining them in the elimination zone were Yuki Tsunoda from RB in 13th place, as well as the Haas duo of Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen in 14th and 15th places respectively.
It was a disappointing Saturday for Daniel Ricciardo, as the RB driver was eliminated from Q1 and finished in 16th place. Also out of the running was Esteban Ocon from Alpine in 17th place, and the Kick Sauber pair of Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu in 18th and 19th places respectively.
Despite the best efforts of the Williams team, Logan Sargeant was unable to participate following his severe crash in FP3, leaving him at the bottom of the standings.
The weekend’s programme (Malta time)
Sunday August 25
10.40am: F1 Academy: Race Two
1:30pm: Grand Prix Sunday: Dutch GP build-up
3pm: The DUTCH GRAND PRIX
