Dutch Grand Prix: Pole at Verstappen

Sunny. Dry. Air +27…26С, track +39…38С

At Zandvoort, qualifying is the most important session of the weekend, overtaking on a narrow track is almost impossible even in the junior series, but the battle for the starting position is always spectacular and the smallest mistakes lead to retirement. On Friday, a strong wind intervened and both practices were interrupted by red flags, and on Saturday the wind died down.

Pirelli once again brought the hardest tires to the podium – C1, C2 and C3 in the role of Hard, Medium and Soft. There was little wear, but getting the Soft tires working at the start of a fast lap proved a challenge. Another problem was traffic – the attempt had to be passed on time and without errors.

The fans had a lot of fun during the day at many events – under clear skies in good weather, and at the start of qualifying the stands were completely filled.

In the first session some riders left immediately, while others waited in the pits to avoid traffic. In the first attempt, Verstappen led the scoresheet with a lap time of 1:11.317.

McLaren’s mechanics released Norris right in front of Tsunoda’s car as they drove through the pit lane – the stewards resolved this incident after qualifying and fined McLaren €5,000.

Verstappen refused the second attempt, the rest kept fighting. Verstappen’s result held, but Hamilton lost only 14 thousandths. Vettel attacked but ruined the lap by crashing into the gravel at Turn 13.

On the short track, the results were incredibly tight – 15 riders going into the second session fit in five tenths. Representatives from five different teams dropped out of the further battle: Bottas, Magnussen, Riccardo, Vettel and Latifi.

second session stopped with red flags in the first seconds, when one of the fans threw an orange smoke bomb in the middle of the track. The fan was immediately arrested and removed from the stands. Six minutes later the riders could leave.

In the first attempt, Verstappen showed the best time on rolled tires – 1:10,927, Hamilton lost one and a half tenths on fresh tires, the rest lost more.

Again Verstappen gave up on the second attempt, the rest fought for position and tried to avoid traffic in the last corner. As a result, the protocol was led by Carlos Sainz, who had completed a circle in 1:10.814 and one hundredth ahead of Russell.

Gasly, Okon, dissatisfied with the traffic of Alonso, Zhou and Albon did not make the final.

In the final Verstappen set a new benchmark in the first attempt – 1:10.515, half a second ahead of his partner, but Leclerc drove even faster – 1:10.456.

Stroll did not take off in the final due to hydraulic problems – the team discovered a leak.

On the second attempt, the riders barely managed to start when the yellow flags appeared – due to a smoke bomb in the first corner, but it rolled to the side and the flags were removed.

Leclerc drove even faster – 1:10,363, but to the delight of the stands Verstappen was ahead of him – 1:10,342. Yellow flags appeared almost immediately – exiting Turn 13, Perez turned around so that the rest didn’t have a chance to improve their result.

Max Verstappen won qualifying at home to take his fourth pole of the season and 17th of his career. Leclerc will share the front row of the grid with him, Sainz and Hamilton will start from second, Perez and Russell will start from third.

Qualification Results