In Zandvoort’s lone dry practice, Oscar Piastri, Lewis Hamilton, Lando Norris, and George Russell all outperformed hometown hero Max Verstappen.
At the Dutch Grand Prix, Lando Norris defeated hometown hero Max Verstappen to take pole position, but Lewis Hamilton was the one with the most injuries to heal.
The seven-time Formula 1 champion’s Mercedes’s pace during Friday practice made him a strong candidate for pole. However, his best effort in the second round was only the 12th fastest time recorded, meaning he was never able to challenge for a front row seat.
Additionally, he is under investigation after allegedly hindering Sergio Perez in Q1, which, if proven true, could cause him to fall three spots lower. However, Norris’ day was made after he won the best grid position for Sunday’s Grand Prix by putting it all together in the last portion of the session.
With a brilliant lap, he was over a third of a second faster than Verstappen, and McLaren was ecstatic to see Oscar Piastri finish third. George Russell’s fourth-place finish ahead of Perez’s fifth-place finish allayed some of Mercedes’ worries.
The primary incident of Q1 concerned Perez and Hamilton; although the former was fastest overall, it didn’t deter him after he had to stop a lap to avoid running into the slower-moving Mercedes on the track. The Red Bull racer yelled angrily over the radio, but the Briton thought he had moved out of the way enough.
“This idiot—what the f*** is he doing?” Perez yelled, and in his own message, Hamilton, who was much calmer, said, “I was well out of his way.” The Red Bull driver was irritated that he had to use a second set of soft tires to ensure he made it through, even though the F1 stewards took notice of the incident and recorded it.
Due to a significant crash during practice earlier in the day, Logan Sargeant missed qualifying and will require special dispensation to begin the race on Sunday. The massive impact and ensuing fire severely damaged his Williams, making it impossible for the team to prepare the vehicle for the second session of the day.
The two Saubers were the slowest of those who did set out on the track, exhibiting once more pitiful one-lap times. Teammates Esteban Ocon and Daniel Ricciardo were the other, possibly more surprising and definitely more irritated, losers of the first qualifying round, as Valtteri Bottas prevailed over Zhou Guanyu.
However, the surprises for Q2 were much bigger, as Hamilton’s best lap only placed him in 12th place. The seven-time Formula One champion was left at risk of starting the Dutch Grand Prix from 15th on the grid while the stewards looked into that hindering incident.
Not much better off was Carlos Sainz, who had to settle for 11th place on the grid after failing to advance. The other three drivers that were eliminated in the second round were Yuki Tsunoda, Nico Hulkenberg, and Kevin Magnussen; however, if Hamilton is indeed penalized for obstructing Perez, then all three of them could move up the grid.
Although Norris had appeared quick the entire session, he saved his best for last. Verstappen’s best attempt was blown away by his final flying lap, and the Dutchman was helpless to stop the McLaren driver from outdoing him in front of his home crowd.
The Briton was ecstatic, saying, “The car was feeling amazing!” “A big thanks to the team—we’ve got some upgrades on the car for the first time in a while, and everything is working very well.”
“I’m excited for tomorrow,” Norris said in response to the question of whether he can hold off Verstappen to turn the pole into a win. Max has been moving really quickly this weekend, so I’m sure it will be difficult. Even though we beat him today, he’s still in second place and will undoubtedly fight hard, especially in his home race. I’m excited about it.”
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