Joe
Lando Norris made history at the Dutch Grand Prix by becoming the first driver to outpace Max Verstappen for pole position since the race’s return to the Formula 1 calendar in 2021.
The McLaren driver delivered a sensational lap, beating Verstappen by 0.356 seconds.
Verstappen, who had previously dominated this event, was pushed to second place. Norris’ McLaren teammate, Oscar Piastri, secured third position, trailing Norris by 0.499 seconds, while Mercedes’ George Russell finished fourth.
Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton faced a challenging qualifying session, being eliminated in the second round. A mistake in the penultimate corner of his final lap relegated him to start in 12th position. Hamilton is also under investigation by the stewards for possibly impeding Red Bull’s Sergio Perez during the first session of qualifying.
Norris, reflecting on his performance, expressed his satisfaction, saying, “An amazing day, nice to be back and start with a pole. The qualifying was always pretty smooth, and I put in some good laps, especially the one at the end. The car was feeling amazing, and everything is working well with the upgrades.”
Despite being beaten to pole, Verstappen remained optimistic, stating, “The whole qualifying we just lacked a bit of pace. I’m still very happy to be on the front row. We will give it a good go, but when you’re more than 0.3 seconds behind in qualifying, you have to be realistic.”
Oscar Piastri, who finished third, acknowledged his performance could have been better. “Just didn’t do a good enough job with the lap. The car has been very quick this weekend, so I’m a bit disappointed.”
Sergio Perez, who was fifth fastest, was 0.387 seconds behind his teammate Verstappen, following some driver coaching at Silverstone aimed at improving his form. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc took sixth place, while Fernando Alonso delivered a strong performance, finishing seventh in
