Norris surges to stunning pole ahead of Verstappen and Piastri during qualifying in Zandvoort

Lando Norris has secured pole position for the Dutch Grand Prix in triumphant style, with the Briton pumping in a time over three tenths of a second clear of nearest challenger Max Verstappen.

After putting himself on provisional pole during the initial runs in Q3, Norris bettered that effort by setting a sensational lap of 1m 09.673s in the McLaren. This pushed Verstappen – who had briefly taken P1 – down into second place, with the Dutchman’s time 0.356s back.

Oscar Piastri slotted into third place for McLaren, while George Russell was the lead Mercedes in fourth. Sergio Perez also enjoyed a better qualifying than recent weekends, the Mexican putting his Red Bull into fifth.

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was sixth fastest, ahead of the Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso in seventh and an impressive Alex Albon in eighth for Williams. Lance Stroll and Pierre Gasly rounded out the top-10 for Aston Martin and Alpine respectively.

There were some surprise names to exit Q2, as Carlos Sainz struggled to get his Ferrari through and eventually ended up in 11th. Lewis Hamilton – who will be investigated after the session for a potential impeding incident with Perez in Q1 – also made a shock departure in 12th for Mercedes.

Joining them in the elimination zone were RB’s Yuki Tsunoda in 13th and the Haas pair of Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen in 14th and 15th places.

It was a disappointing Saturday for Daniel Ricciardo, with the RB driver finding himself eliminated from Q1 in P16. Also out was the Alpine of Esteban Ocon in P17 and the Kick Sauber duo of Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu in P18 and P19 respectively.

Despite the best efforts of the Williams crew, Logan Sargeant was ultimately unable to participate following his heavy crash in FP3, leaving him at the bottom of the order.

AS IT HAPPENED

Q1 – Perez goes fastest in close session as Ricciardo exits

After a lack of representative running in the third and final practice hour earlier on Saturday due to a red flag stoppage, some question marks remained as the drivers and teams readied themselves for qualifying in Zandvoort.

One of those uncertainties was over whether Sargeant would participate in the session following a heavy crash for the American during FP3. While he was fortunately unharmed, his Williams suffered significant damage and the crew had their work cut out if they were to repair the car in time for qualifying.

Given the mixed conditions during the weekend’s practice sessions – with a wet/dry FP1, a dry but windy FP2 and a mostly wet FP3 – the weather also proved to be a hot topic entering into Saturday afternoon.

Perhaps much to the relief of many, the sun was breaking through as qualifying got under way in the dry at 1500 local time, albeit it with strong winds persisting – but would the rain stay away for the full hour?

It was a busy start to the session as the majority of the pack headed out on the soft tyre, and Hamilton put himself at the top of the timesheets after the initial runs thanks to his effort of 1m 11.375s. It was extremely close, though, with Norris just 0.002s away in P2 while Verstappen was only 0.018 back in P3.

The stewards noted a potential impeding incident between Hamilton and Perez, with the Red Bull driver having to lift after encountering the slow-moving Mercedes. Others, meanwhile, were focused on getting themselves out of the danger zone as the second runs commenced.

A queue formed in the pit lane as a number of drivers prepared for their final laps. With such fine margins across the field, it was all to play for as Sainz was amongst those at risk in the last minutes. The Spaniard managed to haul himself up into P1, before being pushed down as others improved ahead.

Perez also looked to be at risk, but the Mexican pumped in a lap fast enough to go top, while Russell slotted into P2. Others, though, were not so lucky, and Ricciardo missed out on Q2 by just over a tenth of a second.

Also dropping out were Ocon in the Alpine – who branded his car as a “disaster” – and the Kick Sauber pair of Bottas and Zhou. Sargeant, meanwhile, was not able to participate following that earlier crash, leaving him to be classified in P20.

Knocked out: Ricciardo, Ocon, Bottas, Zhou, Sargeant

Q2 – Sainz and Hamilton eliminated while Norris quickest by just 0.009s

As the action continued into Q2, radio replays highlighted Perez’s unhappiness at his alleged impeding incident with Hamilton, with the Mexican claiming that he had “wasted a set” of tyres due to this. The stewards will investigate the incident after the session.

The Ferraris of Leclerc and Sainz were the first to put times on the board, both running used tyres, before a flurry of laps from their rivals saw Norris go fastest in the initial runs, a mere nine thousandths of a second ahead of McLaren team mate Piastri, with Russell five hundredths back in third.

With the gaps remaining small, Sainz may have been a little nervous at being safe by less than one tenth in P10, while Magnussen, Gasly, Tsunoda, Hulkenberg and Albon were all in the danger zone as the second runs began.

After improvements from Gasly and Tsunoda put them into the top-10 – followed by an impressive showing by Albon to go into P5 – Sainz was pushed out. The Spaniard could only improve to P10 on his own effort and was soon eliminated when Leclerc moved up to P6.

The Ferrari man wasn’t the only high-profile casualty, with Hamilton making a surprise exit in P12. Also out were Tsunoda in 13th and the Haas cars of Hulkenberg and Magnussen in 14th and 15th.

Knocked out: Sainz, Hamilton, Tsunoda, Hulkenberg, Magnussen

Q3 – Norris beats Verstappen to pole with a sensational lap

After the dust settled on Q2, it was time for the all-important top-10 shootout and, given a continued threat of rain, six drivers opted to put an early banker lap in. Norris set the initial benchmark with a time of 1m 10.074s on fresh tyres, 0.119s ahead of team mate Piastri.

Verstappen slotted into third, with Russell in fourth and Leclerc taking fifth, while Gasly was the final driver to set a timed lap in sixth. Stroll, Alonso, Perez and Albon, meanwhile, all looked set to gamble on just one lap in the session.

The Aston Martins chose to run out of sequence as they headed out onto a clear track during a lull in the action, resulting in Alonso going fifth fastest while Stroll took seventh after a slightly messy lap from the Canadian.

Attentions then turned to the final runs. While Verstappen briefly sent the crowd wild by taking P1, Norris then bettered his initial effort by pumping in a 1m 09.673s, beating the Dutchman by over three tenths of a second. Piastri made it a double celebration for McLaren by taking third place.

Russell was less than one tenth away from the Australian in fourth, while Perez ended the session in fifth for Red Bull. It was sixth for Leclerc in the Ferrari, while Alonso, Albon, Stroll and Gasly completed the final positions in the top-10.

Key quote

"An amazing day," said pole-sitter Norris. "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.

"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."

What's next

The 2024 Dutch Grand Prix is set to begin at 1500 local time on Sunday. Head to the RACE HUB to find out how you can catch the action from Zandvoort.