Lando Norris hails ‘amazing’ run to Zandvoort pole but expects home hero Max Verstappen to ‘put up a good fight’ on race day

Lando Norris expressed his satisfaction after returning from Formula 1’s summer break in style by producing a brilliant lap to claim pole position for the Dutch Grand Prix.

McLaren driver Norris, who had been highly self-critical heading into the break and spoke of the need to “reset”, clocked a time of 1m 09.673s in the decisive Q3 phase to beat Red Bull rival Max Verstappen to P1 by more than three-and-a-half tenths.

After stepping out of his car to field the first questions from the media, Norris said: “An amazing day. It’s nice to be back and start with a pole. It was a nice lap, honestly.

“The qualifying was always pretty smooth and I put in some good laps, especially the one at the end, which is always the most important. A great job by the team and I’m happy with today.”

Having navigated challenging, windy conditions throughout qualifying, he continued: “Everyone’s complaining because it’s tricky, it’s not easy out there… Every lap you have to kind of know what to expect, know how much more you can push, where the limits are, but that’s our job at the end of the day.

Qualifying Highlights: 2024 Dutch Grand Prix

“It’s not easy but I felt comfortable out there, the car was feeling amazing. We’ve got some upgrades on the car for the first time in a while and everything’s working very well, so a big thanks to the team too.”

While Norris scored his maiden F1 race win in Miami, the Briton did not convert any of his three previous career poles, including at the Spanish and Hungarian Grands Prix earlier this season.

AS IT HAPPENED: Follow all the action from qualifying for the Dutch Grand Prix

Being reminded of his starts at those two races, given that he lost the lead on both occasions, Norris smiled: “I don’t know why you’re saying that! I’m excited for tomorrow.

“I’m sure it’s going to be tough. Max has been quick all weekend. I know we got him today, but he’s still second and he’s going to be putting up a good fight, specially at his home race. I’m looking forward to it.”

ZANDVOORT, NETHERLANDS - AUGUST 24: Second placed qualifier Max Verstappen of the Netherlands and — Norris will be hoping to end Verstappen’s run of home wins that stretches back to 2021

Norris’s team mate, Oscar Piastri, will start Sunday’s race from third on the grid, having been left to lament a slightly scruffier performance on his final Q3 lap compared to his Q1 and Q2 efforts.

“I just didn’t do a good enough job, really,” the Australian admitted. “I think the first half of the lap was pretty solid, then the second half just wasn’t quite what I needed.

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“The car’s been very quick this weekend. It’s a little bit disappointing to not be a bit higher up, but we’ve still got a good race car underneath us, we can get some really good points and hopefully some trophies tomorrow. We’ll give it a crack.”

Pushed on whether he feels he can still fight for the win, Piastri added: “I think it’s definitely not out of the question. The pace did look good in the long run and we’ve been pretty quick the last few weekends.

“Hopefully we can have a good day tomorrow, get a good start and try and make up a couple of spots if I can. Some good things on offer tomorrow.”