Written by Maria Fashchevskaya
Lando Norris grabs pole alongside Max Verstappen and teammate Oscar Piastri, with more than three tenths ahead of the Dutchman. Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz were knocked out in Q2, surprisingly.
Lando Norris grabbed pole around Zandvoort for the race of the Dutch Grand Prix tomorrow. Max Verstappen was more than three tenths off the Brit's pace, as McLaren's Oscar Piastri completed the top three for the race.
George Russell had problems with grip early in the session, however, finished strong to put himself in P4 for the race, ahead of Perez and Leclerc. Both Aston Martin's came through to Q3, as Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll completed qualifying in P7 and P9, respectively. Williams' Alexander Albon squeezed in between the teammates to take P8 for the race.
Moreover, Alpine could improve to the top ten with Pierre Gasly again today, as he qualified in tenth place. But surprisingly, Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari's Carlos Sainz were eliminated in Q2.
One constant source of conversation before the qualifying had been the weather in Zandvoort. Both FP1 and FP2 had seen very windy conditions, with a wet-dry and dry track, respectively. The practice session Saturday morning had been wet, while the track only dried for the last two minutes after a lengthy red flag. And there was a chance for rain in qualifying, too.
One driver will start from the back of the race grid tomorrow: After a horrible crash – dipping into the grass and going into the barriers – in the third Free Practice, Williams' Logan Sargeant could not participate in qualifying. The driver had jumped out of the car okay, but it left the question open if he could start in qualifying later in that day. Apart from that, read here how the qualifying unfolded:
Q1
As the first part of qualifying has started, the Haas', Alpine's and Kick Sauber's drivers were the first out on track to knock in a timed lap around the track in Zandvoort. Nico Hulkenberg pushed through with a time of 1:13.062s, being the first to have a time on the board. With 13 minutes to go, only Verstappen and Sargeant were still in the box, as the latter could not participate in qualifying after his crash in FP3.
Mercedes were on the edge in the practice sessions in Zandvoort. Lewis Hamilton seemed comfortable in his car, as he topped the board with a 1m 11.375s. Meanwhile, Lando Norris could not beat him, although having only 0.002s till the other Brit. With nine minutes to go, Verstappen was finally out on track but could not match either of the Brits – Norris or Hamilton – for the first row, temporarily.
In the elimination zone at that moment were Ricciardo, Bottas, Sainz, Zhou, and Sargeant, being still in the pits. Then an impeding incident with Hamilton and Perez in turn 9 was noted. However, replays showed that the Brit had been far out of the way of the Mexican. The incident would be investigated after the session. With five minutes to go, George Russell complained to have no grip on his car, as he pulled into the box. He was quite less on the speed in comparison to his teammate.
With four minutes to go, most drivers pulled into the pits, as all of them had soft tyres on their cars. Of course, a traffic jam ensued when drivers wanted to go back on track for a last try in Q1. At risk were Ricciardo, Tsunoda, Bottas, Zhou. Sargeant has still not been seen on track. In 15th place for now was Carlos Sainz, thus, at risk of elimination, too. There came Valtteri Bottas and pushed the Spaniard out.
As the chequered flag was waved for Q1, Sainz improved to usurp everyone and top the board. He pushed out Sergio Perez, who was on a flying lap. Russell then improved and topped the board, too. Red Bull could be relieved, as Perez sped to soar everyone for now.
Meanwhile, Esteban Ocon was not on a flying lap and pushed out of qualifying. Ricciardo tried to improve, but has started his timed lap after the chequered flag, leaving him out of Q2. Both Kick Sauber drivers could not improve their times, too.
Knocked out: Ricciardo, Ocon, Bottas, Guanyu and Sargeant.
Q2
The session started, as both Ferraris lined up to be the first to go out on track. With 12 minutes to go, Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc were the only drivers on timed laps. The Spaniard knocked in a 1:11.835s, while his teammate was faster with a 1:11.665s on the time board. With ten minutes to go, all drivers went on out for their first try in Q2.
Oscar Piastri usurped the Ferraris and topped the board with all the best timed sectors, while Max Verstappen and then Lando Norris took the best time of the first sector from the Australian. Then Norris topped the board, while Lance Stroll took fourth place for now. His teammate Fernando Alonso was a bot slower, coming into fifth place.
With six minutes to go, Magnussen, Gasly, Tsunoda, Hulkenberg and Albon were in the elimination zone. All the drivers had their first timed laps, with both McLarens on the first two positions, temporarily. At risk was again Carlos Sainz, with a gap of 0.704s to the board leader Norris. With three and a half minutes to go, a traffic jam ensued again, with all drivers wanting to get out on track for a last time in Q2.
Pierre Gasly was the first to start his second lap around the circuit in Zandvoort. The top four – Norris, Piastri, Russell, Verstappen – stayed in the pits, being sure to come through to Q3. However, Perez and Albon usurped the Dutchman, leaving him on edge that he could be eliminated. Both Haas could not improve on their second run in Q2, while Alexander Albon finished his flying lap in seventh place.
Surprisingly, Lewis Hamilton was on the edge of elimination – and then kicked out of qualifying! As the chequered flag was waved, Charles Leclerc saved himself to improve to Q3, kicking teammate Carlos Sainz out of qualifying. Yuki Tsunoda was eliminated, too.
Knocked out: Sainz, Hamilton, Tsunoda, Hulkenberg and Magnussen.
Q3
As the last part of qualifying started, both McLarens were the first out on track and on flying laps. Oscar Piastri finished his lap with a time of 1:10.193s, and Max Verstappen was only a tenth slower than that. Then Lando Norris sped across the finish line and usurped both of them.
Charles Leclerc was the next driver to finish a flying lap, however, lined up after the McLarens and Verstappen. George Russell seemed to have found his grip and finished his first timed lap in fourth place, before Ferrari's Leclerc. Pierre Gasly was the last on the time board for now, with a gap of 1.327s to the leader. With six minutes to go, Lance Stroll, Sergio Perez, Alex Albon and Fernando Alonso had still not set a time in Q3, as the Aston Martins came out of the pit at that moment.
Fernando Alonso finished his first flying lap in Q3 with a 1:10.633s, whereas teammate Lance Stroll was a bit slower than that. All the drivers were now out on track for a final run on fresh soft tyres, with one and a half minutes till the end of qualifying. It was still in question who would be on pole position around Zandvoort: Norris or Verstappen?
Max Verstappen sped around the corner: Could he take his fourth pole around that circuit? With a 1:10.029s, he usurped to first place, for now. Lando Norris was just behind him. And he beat him – with a 1:09.673s! Oscar Piastri tried to match his teammate's pace, however, could only get a finish for third place.
Another contender for first row was George Russell in the Mercedes: He finished his final run, placing in fourth place for the race tomorrow. In P5 would start Red Bull's Sergio Perez, ahead of Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and Fernando Alonso. Williams' Alexander Albon and Aston Martin's Lance Stroll would start from P8 and P9, respectively. And Pierre Gasly finished Q3 with the tenth place on the grid for the race.
Who will win the 2024 Dutch Grand Prix? Let’s watch and see tomorrow at 2 p.m. BST (3 p.m. track time).
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