Dutch Grand Prix: Norris takes pole

Cloudy. Dry. Air +24С, highway +31…29С

Overtaking is difficult on the narrow and winding Zandvoort circuit; much is decided in qualifying, which is often rainy and always windy, although it is not always possible to predict the weather on the North Sea coast in advance.

The practice was interrupted by rain and red flags. On Friday Russell showed the best time, on Saturday morning Gasly, but the third practice was remembered for Sargent’s spectacular accident, which so destroyed the car that it took more than 40 minutes to eliminate the consequences. The driver was not injured, the barriers were repaired and the car for the American was mounted on a spare chassis, but they did not have time – he did not take part in qualifying.

The Shinniks brought the heaviest compounds on the podium: C1 as hard, C2 as medium and C3 as soft. In training the riders did not work much with slicks, but on Sunday that will have its effect and on Saturday the choice of tires was obvious.

Back to top first session To the delight of the fans, the sun shone, the asphalt finally dried and the riders rode on Soft. Verstappen missed his first attempt.

The rain washed away the layer of used rubber, there was not enough grip, but gradually the track became faster. At the first attempt Hamilton showed the best time: 1:11.375. Lewis hindered Perez in a fast lap – the stewards reviewed this incident after qualifying and fined the Briton for losing three places at the start.

On the second attempt Leaving the pit lane, the drivers were stuck in traffic for a long time, but still managed to drive a fast lap. Perez led the protocol and drove a lap in 1:11.006. All the drivers who continued were fit within eight tenths of the leader’s time. Ricciardo, Ocon, Bottas, Zhou and Sargent, who did not go on track, fell out of the battle.

In the second session the sky was cloudy, the temperature on the circuit started to drop, but it was dry. At the first attempt Norris showed the best time: 1:10.496, at the second his result remained.

Sainz, Hamilton, Tsunoda, Hulkenberg and Magnussen failed to qualify for the final.

In the final Stroll, Perez, Albon and Alonso missed the first attempt, with Norris taking first place – 1:10.074.

On the second attempt, Verstappen first drove faster, then Norris was ahead of him – 1:09.673.

Lando Norris won qualifying at Zandvoort and took his fourth pole in his career. Max Verstappen showed the second fastest time and lost 356 thousandths. Tomorrow Piastri and Russell will start from the second row, Perez and Leclerc will start from the third row.

Alex Albon, who posted the eighth fastest time, was disqualified for breaking the technical regulations. The underside of his car did not meet the rules and his result was excluded from the protocol.

Qualification results