After playing second fiddle to his teammate throughout free practice, Oscar Piastri has taken pole with a stunning lap that came seemingly out of nowhere. Sector one has been a point of contention for Piastri all weekend, and while he later admitted to not fully mastering his less favoured corners, his time of 1m 08.662s was enough to pip Lando Norris to pole by just 12 milliseconds as neither McLaren driver improved on their final runs.
With the orange cars out in front, the likes of Ferrari, Mercedes, and Verstappen were left to fight it out for third. In the end, it was Verstappen who put it all together to secure P3, the only driver other than the two McLarens to break into the 1m 08’s. A solid result given his free practice woes, Verstappen’s position may be under threat as he was later called to the stewards to discuss his delta lap time in Q3. Assuming he retains third on the grid, Verstappen has stated that a podium is a realistic objective.
As incredible as Piastri’s pole lap was, the standout surprise in qualifying was definitely Isack Hadjar. Having quietly gone about his business all weekend and endured a Friday he described as “a complete disaster”, the Racing Bulls driver put in a phenomenal final run to snatch fourth place. His best qualifying result to date.
George Russell will line up fifth, having made a couple of minor mistakes in Q3. Russell later admitted that a slight misstep at the end of qualifying could cost a couple of places on the grid, such are the fine margins at Zandvoort.
Ferrari struggled in free practice and didn’t turn many heads in Q1 or Q2. Come Q3, the Scuderia looked to be the weakest of the top four teams. Lewis Hamilton seemed to have the edge when it mattered most, but eventually qualified seventh, five hundredths of a second behind his teammate Charles Leclerc. However, in contrast to Leclerc, who was visibly frustrated at both his and the team’s form this weekend, Hamilton cut a more positive figure. The seven-time world champion has made Q3 for the first time since Silverstone and stated that even though the car is not where he’d like, he has modified his own approach and is in a far better frame of mind.
Liam Lawson underlined the Racing Bulls’ strength with a third consecutive Q3 appearance in eighth, while Carlos Sainz maximised his package to secure ninth, one place ahead of compatriot Fernando Alonso.
Kimi Antonelli was one of the more notable Q2 dropouts. He will line up 11th, having missed out on the last part of qualifying by just two hundredths of a second.
Yuki Tsunoda had no major qualifying drama but could only manage 12th fastest, making this the eighth time in nine races that he has failed to make Q3. The Japanese driver currently holds the unwanted record for most consecutive pointless race finishes in Red Bull history (seven) and will be looking to end that drought on Sunday.
Gabriel Bortoleto’s Q3 streak has come to an end. That said, the Brazilian did have the measure of his more experienced teammate in qualifying. He’ll start 13th, four places ahead of Nico Hulkenberg.
Alpine’s poor form looks set to continue with Pierre Gasly only managing 14th, one place ahead of Alex Albon, who did little to hide his frustration with his tyres at the end of Q2. Franco Colapinto will start 16th, ahead of the two Haas’, Esteban Ocon having beaten Ollie Bearman by seven hundredths of a second.
Having worked through the night to get his damaged car ready for action after that FP2 shunt, Lance Stroll’s mechanics were faced with yet another repair job. The Canadian got onto the grass and spun out of contention at turn 13. Having failed to set a time in Q1, Stroll will be starting tomorrow’s race from the back.
McLaren look set for top honours on Sunday. However, with third to tenth covered by just seven-tenths of a second, there’s still plenty to play for at Zandvoort.
