Norris takes commanding Dutch GP pole as Verstappen falters in front of home crowd

Oscar Piastri set the early benchmark in Q1, putting his McLaren at the top of the timesheets with a 1:12.610. The margins at the front were extremely tight, however, with Lewis Hamilton only 0.063 seconds behind and Lando Norris a further 0.022 adrift. Mercedes also featured towards the sharp end through George Russell and Kimi Antonelli, while Charles Leclerc completed the opening segment in sixth.

It was a much more complicated Q1 for Max Verstappen. The Red Bull driver could only manage 12th, finishing 0.680 seconds away from Piastri's benchmark. Further down the order, the battle to avoid elimination remained close, with less than a tenth separating several drivers around the cut-off.

Carlos Sainz ultimately missed out on a place in Q2 by just 0.022 seconds, finishing 17th behind Alexander Albon. Fernando Alonso, Lance Stroll and Oliver Bearman were also eliminated, while Cadillac endured a particularly difficult session as Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez finished at the bottom of the timesheets.

McLaren remained firmly at the top in Q2, with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri once again setting the pace. Norris took first place with a 1:11.628, beating his teammate by just 0.013 seconds as the two McLarens underlined their speed ahead of the final battle for pole. Max Verstappen recovered from a difficult Q1 to move up to third, although his 1:11.874 still left him 0.246 seconds behind Norris.

Behind the leading trio, the fight was extremely close. Charles Leclerc took fourth ahead of Kimi Antonelli by only 0.005 seconds, with George Russell and Lewis Hamilton following in sixth and seventh respectively. Liam Lawson, Gabriel Bortoleto and Arvid Lindblad completed the top 10 and secured their places in Q3.

Pierre Gasly narrowly missed out in 11th, just 0.091 seconds behind Lindblad, while Yuki Tsunoda was also eliminated in 12th. Nico Hulkenberg, Franco Colapinto, Esteban Ocon and Alexander Albon joined them in dropping out.

Lando Norris delivered when it mattered most in Q3, securing pole position for the Dutch Grand Prix with a 1:11.163. The McLaren driver beat George Russell by 0.102 seconds, while Kimi Antonelli completed the top three just 0.031 behind his Mercedes teammate. Oscar Piastri had to settle for fourth, finishing 0.142 seconds away from Norris after being unable to match his teammate in the decisive session.

Lewis Hamilton secured fifth for Ferrari ahead of Charles Leclerc, while Max Verstappen endured a disappointing Q3 in front of his home crowd. The Dutchman could only manage seventh, 0.455 seconds off pole, and will therefore start Sunday's race from the fourth row. Liam Lawson took eighth, with Gabriel Bortoleto and Arvid Lindblad completing the top 10.