Verstappen fastest in damp Dutch qualifying for 8th pole of season
Max Verstappen went fastest during Saturday's damp qualifying session at Circuit Zandvoort and will start the Dutch Grand Prix, the two-time reigning champ's home race, from pole position.
McLaren's Lando Norris will start alongside Verstappen's Red Bull on the front row.
Mercedes' George Russell and Williams' Alex Albon comprise the second row, starting third and fourth, respectively.
It's a diverse top of the grid, with six different cars making up the top six spots, culminating in Fernando Alonso's Aston Martin and Ferrari's Carlos Sainz starting on the third row.
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 1:10.567 |
| 2 | Lando Norris | McLaren | +0.537 |
| 3 | George Russell | Mercedes | +0.727 |
| 4 | Alex Albon | Williams | +0.852 |
| 5 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | +0.939 |
| 6 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | +1.187 |
| 7 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull | +1.313 |
| 8 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | +1.371 |
| 9 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | +2.098 |
| 10 | Logan Sargeant | Williams | +6.181 |
| 11 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | Q2 |
| 12 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | Q2 |
| 13 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | Q2 |
| 14 | Nico Hulkenberg | Haas | Q2 |
| 15 | Zhou Guanyu | Alfa Romeo | Q1 |
| 16 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine | Q1 |
| 17 | Yuki Tsunoda* | AlphaTauri | Q2 |
| 18 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | Q1 |
| 19 | Valtteri Bottas | Alfa Romeo | Q1 |
| 20 | Liam Lawson | AlphaTauri | Q1 |
Verstappen's teammate Sergio Perez went seventh fastest.
Tsunoda was handed a three-place grid penalty following the session for impeding Lewis Hamilton during Q2. The British seven-time champ failed to make it into Q3.
The third round of qualifying featured two red flags, with Logan Sargeant and Charles Leclerc crashing into the wall.
Liam Lawson's debut on the grid will see him start from dead last, with the 21-year-old filling in for the injured Daniel Ricciardo with AlphaTauri. Ricciardo suffered a broken left hand during the second practice session Friday, and Lawson's time on the track before qualifying was severely limited by weather earlier Saturday.
Verstappen, clinching his eighth pole of the season, will attempt to equal Sebastian Vettel's record of nine consecutive race wins set in 2013 with another Dutch GP victory. Verstappen hasn't lost at Zandvoort since the track's return to the F1 calendar in 2021.
This is the first race since the Belgian GP in late July, concluding F1's summer break.