Oscar Piastri lived up to McLaren’s expectations during the qualifying round in Zandvoort on Saturday, superbly securing pole position. This achievement came on the birthday of Bruce McLaren. His teammate and World Championship rival, Lando Norris, will start second in the Dutch GP on Sunday. The highest achievable position for Max Verstappen was third.
Q1: Stroll Makes a Mistake, McLaren Immediately Fast
Lance Stroll, who had already crashed on Friday, set a negative tone in the qualifying round: he ended up off the track in the opening phase of Q1 due to his own actions. The Canadian was able to continue, but did not make any further progress in the rest of the session: the Aston Martin driver will start last. Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris immediately showed their serious intentions in the fight for pole: P1 and P2. Max Verstappen finished Q1 in fourth place.
Eliminated: Colapinto, Hülkenberg, Ocon, Bearman, Stroll.
Q2: Verstappen Makes an Excellent Impression
After Charles Leclerc‘s sharp observation at the start of Q2 that a fox (!) was roaming the Zandvoort circuit, it was Verstappen who subsequently set a sharp time. However, this proved to be just a preliminary skirmish, as Norris and Piastri quickly restored order at the top of the timesheet. Verstappen advanced as the third contender to the third and final part of the qualification. This was not the case for his teammate Yuki Tsunoda, who finished twelfth and had to concede to both former teammates Liam Lawson and Isack Hadjar in the Racing Bulls.
Eliminated: Antonelli, Tsunoda, Bortoleto, Pierre Gasly, Alexander Albon
Q3: Piastri Decides Exciting Battle: Pole!
Could Verstappen, with a miraculous lap, possibly outdo both McLarens? Unfortunately for the Dutchman and his tens of thousands of fans in the stands, this proved to be a bridge too far in Zandvoort: he finished third. In Q3 at Zandvoort, Piastri dealt the first blow to Norris, albeit by only a hundredth of a second. The championship leader then held his ground in the second run, thus staying ahead of Norris. This promises an exciting race – a titanic battle between the two McLaren drivers awaits, with Verstappen potentially benefiting on home soil.
The race in Zandvoort starts Sunday afternoon at 13:00 UTC.
