ZANDVOORT, Netherlands: McLaren’s Oscar Piastri secured pole position for the Dutch Grand Prix on Saturday, leading a one-two finish for his team with teammate Lando Norris.
The Australian driver clocked a lap record of one minute 8.662 seconds, just 0.012 seconds ahead of Norris. The pole is Piastri’s fifth of the season as he seeks to extend his nine-point lead over Norris in the world championship.
Piastri’s qualifying performance came after Norris had been faster in all three practice sessions.
“That was the definition of peaking at the right time,” Piastri said after the session. “It was looking like a bit of a tricky weekend so far so to come out with that, I’m pretty stoked.”
Norris said there was little to complain about despite finishing second on the grid.
“I think there were a couple of places where I wasn’t quite on a good enough limit and consistently losing a bit too much lap time today,” he told reporters. “So, some places and things I need to work on, but otherwise the laps were good and I’m still pretty happy.”
Home favourite Max Verstappen, a four-time world champion, qualified third, admitting that his Red Bull is off the pace this season. He is currently 97 points behind Piastri in the standings.
Verstappen said he was “very happy” with his third-place qualifying result and credited the crowd for getting his “adrenaline pumping.” He added that his main goal for Sunday was to stay ahead of the pack chasing the McLarens.
“Qualifying was the best that I’ve felt all weekend,” he said. “Still not of course on the level of McLaren, but at least to be P3 is very good for us.”
Rookie driver Isack Hadjar qualified fourth for Racing Bulls, ahead of Mercedes driver George Russell.
Meanwhile, seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton qualified seventh, behind his Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc. Hamilton’s move to Ferrari has not gone to plan, and his downbeat mood has sparked retirement concerns after he recently described himself as “completely useless.”
In an unusual event, a fox was seen crossing the track safely in front of Leclerc’s car.
The Dutch Grand Prix is a challenging circuit for overtaking, making a strong grid position even more crucial. The race will start on Sunday at 3pm local time.
© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd
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