Lando Norris takes commanding Dutch GP pole with Lewis Hamilton only 12th

Lando Norris reminded Max Verstappen of his world championship credentials by taking a brilliant pole position for the Dutch Grand Prix. The British driver, who trails Verstappen by 78 points in the standings with 10 rounds still to go, saw off his rival by 0.356sec to silence the 100,000 spectators hoping to see the Dutchman start the Zandvoort race from the front.

Verstappen, without a win from his last four appearances, will start alongside Norris on the front row. Oscar Piastri took third, half a second down on McLaren team-mate Norris. Mercedes’ George Russell finished fourth as Lewis Hamilton endured an afternoon to forget after he failed to make it out of Q2. He will line up from 12th for Sunday’s 72-lap race but faces an investigation by the stewards for blocking Sergio Perez.

Norris might have been much closer to Verstappen in the title race but for a catalogue of mistakes by driver and team. However, the 24-year-old brought his A-game to qualifying with a scintillating final effort to provide himself with the best shot of kicking off the second half of the season with just the second win of his career.

Verstappen temporarily bumped Norris off the summit to huge cheers, only for Norris to knock the home favourite, who had taken three poles and three wins since the sport returned to the Netherlands in 2021, off his perch. Hamilton headed into the summer break with his second win of the campaign after Russell was disqualified in Belgium.

But the seven-time world champion was no match for Russell here after qualifying four-tenths behind his team-mate to leave him way down the order for Sunday’s race. “Okay, Lewis, I am afraid, mate, that is P12 so we have been bumped,” said Hamilton’s race engineer Peter Bonnington. “Just four-and-a-half tenths to P1 so very tight in that mid-pack.”

It marked the second successive year that Hamilton has been eliminated in Q2 in Zandvoort, and the first time since China – a streak of 10 races – that he has failed to make the concluding part of qualifying. Hamilton is also under investigation for impeding Sergio Perez.

American driver Logan Sargeant watched from the sidelines after he was involved in a heavy crash in final practice which saw him jump out of his burning Williams. Sargeant lost control of his car through the banked third corner in the wet conditions as he bounced off the barrier and back on to the track.

The 23-year-old suffered extensive damage to his car, as his right-rear tyre came loose and bounced along the asphalt, before it suddenly caught fire. Sargeant emerged from his wrecked machine before slumping over the barriers. He was taken to the medical centre for precautionary checks but Williams were unable to repair his car in time.

PA Sport

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Norris blitzes the field to take Dutch GP pole – as it happened

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03:38 PM BST

Hamilton reflects on a difficult session

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03:28 PM BST

Watch: Lando Norris’s pole lap

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03:12 PM BST

Things could get worse for Hamilton

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03:10 PM BST

Norris hasn’t always made the most of pole in 2024

Just one win from three poles and a few other good positions feels like a bit of a poor return.

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03:09 PM BST

Pole man Norris speaks

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03:07 PM BST

Q3 – Classification

1. NOR 1:09.673

2. VER +0.356

3. PIA +0.499

4. RUS +0.571

5. PER +0.743

6. LEC +0.909

7. ALO +0.960

8. ALB +0.980

9. STR +1.184

10. GAS +1.304

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03:07 PM BST

Oscar Piastri speaks after his third place

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03:05 PM BST

Verstappen reacts to a front-row start

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03:03 PM BST

LANDO NORRIS TAKES POLE FOR THE 2024 DUTCH GRAND PRIX

Piastri doesn’t improve from third. It will be Lando Norris and Max Verstappen on the front row. Russell puts in a good lap to go fourth for Mercedes, with Sergio Perez in fifth.

It’s a commanding pole for Norris, 0.356sec ahead of Verstappen over a lap that is 70 seconds long. That is, in percentage terms, half a percent. Significant.

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03:01 PM BST

Q3 – Verstappen on provisional pole

But how long will that last? Not very long! Norris beats it by 0.356sec. What has Piastri got? He has only just started his lap…

What’s his first sector like? The car doesn’t look hooked up and he’s 0.357sec down after two sectors. He has a chance of the front row but needs a good final sector.

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03:00 PM BST

Q3 – Not a great first sector for Verstapen

A tenth or two down. Norris improves in sector one, though. Verstappen massively improves in the middle sector, though, 0.222sec up on Verstappen but Norris is a tenth up on that so it comes down to the final sector!

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02:59 PM BST

Q3 – Alonso exapserated

“I cannot do more than this,” he says. After all those podiums last year it is a shame to see the Aston Martin slip back from the front of the pack.

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02:58 PM BST

Q3 – Lance Stroll and Alonso onto their first hot laps of the min-session

Stroll crosses the line and goes sixth… not great, 0.783sec off Norris. Alonso is looking a little sharper but not by an enormous amount. The Spaniard crosses the line and goes fifth, 0.559sec off Norris, who has just left the pit lane.

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02:54 PM BST

Q3 – Order as it stands

1. NOR 1:10.074

2. PIA +0.119

3. VER +0.148

4. RUS +0.436

5. LEC +0.684

6. GAS +1.327

7. STR (NO TIME)

8. PER (NO TIME)

9. ALB (NO TIME)

10. ALO (NO TIME)

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02:54 PM BST

Q3 – Russell into fourth

A few tenths slower than Verstappen so it is perhaps safe to assume he will not be challenging for pole position. Leclerc on used softs a full 0.684sec off Norris’s pace.

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02:53 PM BST

Q3 – Piastri fastest now

Verstappen cannot beat him, but Norris can! He moves 0.119sec faster than his team-mate. Verstappen just 0.029sec slower than Piastri.

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02:52 PM BST

Q3 – Norris and Piastri close after two sectors

Verstappen not far away either…

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02:51 PM BST

Q3 – Well done to Alpine and Pierre Gasly

They shouldn’t really be in the position of celebrating Q3 appearances with their resources but that team has been a metaphorical bin fire in the last few years especially.

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02:50 PM BST

Q3 begins – 12 minutes remain

McLaren the strong favourites for this, I’d say. You cannot rule out Verstappen as I think he has left a few tenths out there without really nailing any of his laps today.

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02:48 PM BST

That was a bit of a turn-up

Alexander Albon does make it through to Q3 which is a good effort from him, out-qualifying a Ferrari and a Mercedes. Verstappen makes it through in P8 but was only a tenth or so from being eliminated but not being sent out again was the right call in the end by Red Bull. Risky, though. James Vowles, Williams team principal calls Albon’s lap a “strong effort”.

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02:45 PM BST

Q2 – Classification

1. NOR 1:10.496

2. PIA +0.009

3. RUS +0.056

4. STR +0.165

5. PER +0.182

6. LEC +0.193

7. ALB +0.272

8. VER +0.315

9. GAS +0.319

10. ALO +0.349
    ELIMINATED:

11. SAI +0.418

12. HAM +0.452

13. TSU +0.459

14. HUL +0.719

15. MAG +0.799

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02:43 PM BST

Q2 – It was a poor first sector from Hamilton

He was 0.3sec down and never really made that up. That’s disappointing. Russell makes it through with a good lap after looking a bit dodgy in Q1.

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02:42 PM BST

Q2 – What can Sainz do?

He is in the drop zone… only ninth. Is that going to be good enough? Stroll goes fourth as he crosses the line. Hamilton needs to improve and he cannot improve enough to get into Q3! He’s 11th at best. Toto Wolff’s face says it all:

Leclerc into sixth with demotes Sainz into 11th and out of qualifying!

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02:41 PM BST

Q2 – Final runs under way

Norris leads Piastri as it stands. Perez improves to go fourth, 0.182sec off Norris. Stroll with the fastest first sector of anyone so far as the track continues to ramp up.

Albon into fifth proves that, ahead of Verstappen for now.

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02:37 PM BST

Q2 – Order after the first runs

1. NOR 1:10.496

2. PIA +0.009

3. RUS +0.056

4. VER +0.315

5. HAM +0.503

6. LEC +0.564

7. STR +0.596

8. PER +0.604

9. ALO +0.641

10. SAI +0.704
    DROP ZONE

11. MAG +0.799

12. GAS +0.980

13. TSU +1.018

14. HUL +1.115

15. ALB +1.364

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02:33 PM BST

Q2 – Verstappen goes third

0.3sec or so off Piastri but Norris then posts a time fast enough to lead the pack, by just 0.009sec over his team-mate. Perez a full 0.604sec off that time when he completes his first flying lap of this session.

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02:32 PM BST

Q2 – Piastri with the fastest first sector

And indeed the fastest second sector, more than a second faster than Charles Leclerc. Ferrari not very impressive so far today.

Its a 1:10.505 from Piastri to go faster than Leclerc by 1.160sec. Verstappen and Norris also with decent first sectors, though Verstappen’s middle sector is not so good, losing a tenth or so.

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02:29 PM BST

Q2 – The skies have clouded after at the start of Q2

Doesn’t mean rain is imminent, mind you. Leclerc goes fastest early on, 0.170sec ahead of Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc. Sainz, who will be driving for Williams in 2025, is not too happy with his car.

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02:27 PM BST

Q2 begins

Albon makes it through to Q2 which is decent. That has not always been the case this season, when it was more often than not in 2023.

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02:25 PM BST

Ocon unhappy

“I don’t know what’s going on but something’s going on in this session. Car’s a disaster from the start of the weekend,”.

Sergio Perez not happy about having to burn a set of soft tyres to go fastest in Q1. He was also still not happy with Hamilton over this incident.

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02:22 PM BST

Q1 – Classification

1. PER 1:11.006

2. RUS +0.043

3. SAI +0.321

4. LEC +0.364

5. HAM +0.369

6. NOR +0.371

7. VER +0.387

8. ALO +0.487

9. ALB +0.497

10. STR +0.512

11. PIA +0.535

12. TSU +0.597

13. MAG +0.624

14. GAS +0.712

15. HUL +0.826

All these men have made it through to Q2.

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02:20 PM BST

Q1 – Perez goes fastest at the end

He is 0.043sec ahead of Russell. The track improvement was enormous there and that will continue to be the case assuming no further rain.

Ricciardo, Ocon, Bottas, Zhou and Sargeant are eliminated. 

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02:20 PM BST

Q1 – Verstappen will still be safely through

Sainz only just up on where he needs to be after one sector but plenty of time to be made up later on in the lap.

He does find plenty of time in the final two sectors, going fastest of all. Russell then beats that by nearly three-tenths. Perez now in the drop zone but is improving…

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02:18 PM BST

Q1 – Into the final few minutes

Verstappen abandons his hot lap and, like Russell, complains about the amount of sliding. Bottas gets out of the bottom five for now, putting Sainz in the drop zone, though he is improving on his current lap.

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02:15 PM BST

Q1 – Drivers in the drop zone

Ricciardo, Tsunoda, Bottas, Zhou and Sargeant, who has yet to leave the garage.

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02:14 PM BST

Q1 – Top 10 and gaps

1. HAM 1:11.375

2. NOR +0.002

3. VER +0.018

4. PIA +0.166

5. GAS +0.343

6. STR +0.457

7. HUL +0.457

8. ALB +0.489

9. LEC +0.515

10. RUS +0.529

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02:13 PM BST

Q1 – Russell with an average lap

Or even poor. 0.529sec off Hamilton’s leading time and only good enough for 10th. Meanwhile, Hamilton has been noted for impeding Perez.

“What the f— is this idiot doing?!” Perez says. “I was well out of his way,” is what Hamilton says.

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02:10 PM BST

Q1 – Verstappen goes third on his first run

0.018sec off Hamilton’s time. Decent.

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02:10 PM BST

Q1 – Top six as it stands

1. HAM

2. NOR +0.002

3. PIA +0.166

4. STR +0.457

5. ALB +0.489

6. LEC +0.515

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02:08 PM BST

Q1 – Hamilton leads the way

His time of 1:11.375 is just 0.002sec ahead of Lando Norris in the McLaren, who looks like he left some time out there. The track evolution, after plenty of rain over the weekend, will be large throughout qualifying.

Max Verstappen leaves the garage for his first run in Q1. 

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02:07 PM BST

Q1 – Sainz does not post a great lap time

He’s slower than Ocon and Gasly and a host of other people, too. Leclerc is faster but is only fourth. Piastri leads the way from Lance Stroll by just under three tenths.

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02:04 PM BST

Q1 – Hulkenberg posts a 1:13.062

Zhou is about six or seven tenths behind that as Carlos Sainz starts his first flying lap.

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02:02 PM BST

Q1 – Nico Hulkenberg out there early

As is Valtteri Bottas. Difficult to overstate how poor a season Sauber are having this year. They are the only pointless team.

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02:00 PM BST

GREEN LIGHT: Q1 is go!

Who will be the five drivers eliminated? We will find out in 18 minutes’ time.

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01:59 PM BST

Could Sargeant even get out for qualifying?

Possibly, judging by these pictures…

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01:57 PM BST

We are nearly ready to go

Who will be on pole? The last four races have been Vestappen, Russell, Norris and Leclerc (though Verstappen was fastest at Spa but took a penalty).

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01:53 PM BST

Another weather update

It is very windy.

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01:38 PM BST

Verstappen pretty impatient in FP3

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01:32 PM BST

Weather update

It is currently dry at Zandvoort but there is a reasonable (40 per cent-ish) chance of showers in the qualifying hour. That increases as the day goes on but, unless we get a significant stoppage, then the worst of the rain will be after the chequered flag. Tomorrow looks almost certainly dry with sunny spells.

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01:30 PM BST

Current constructor standings

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01:25 PM BST

F1 driver standings: Top 10 after 14 rounds

Click here to view this content.

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01:16 PM BST

News from earlier this weekend

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01:14 PM BST

Times and standings from FP3

1. Gasly, Alpine 1:30.311

2. Kevin Magnussen, Haas +0.139

3. Valtteri Bottas, Sauber +0.844

4. Lando Norris, McLaren +1.076

5. Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin +1.150

6. Esteban Ocon, Alpine +1.332

7. Oscar Piastri, McLaren +1.539

8. Lance Stroll, Aston Martin +1.630

9. Nico Hulkenberg, Haas +2.043

10. Carlos Sainz, Ferrari +2.278

11. Zhou Guanyu, Sauber +2.929

12. Logan Sargeant, Williams +2.976

13. George Russell, Mercedes +3.647

14. Alexander Albon, Williams +3.696

15. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes +3.787

16. Charles Leclerc, Ferrari +3.847

17. Max Verstappen, Red Bull +4.049

18. Daniel Ricciardo, RB +5.122

19. Yuki Tsunoda, RB (no time set)

20. Sergio Perez, Red Bull (no time set)

Not a great deal of laps on the board for anyone, with Piastri the only man in double figures due the rain and the red flag.

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01:09 PM BST

Williams driver Logan Sargeant jumps from burning car in Dutch GP final practice

Logan Sargeant has suffered a difficult F1 season and that poor form continued with a hefty crash in FP3 earlier today. He escaped unhurt bit will not be taking part in qualifying today because his car was a total wreck. Read (and look) on more of that here. 

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12:53 PM BST

Good afternoon

Welcome to our coverage for qualifying for the Dutch Grand Prix from Zandvoort. It’s the first race after the summer break and at the start of the year the hiatus could not come soon enough as Max Verstappen continued his dominance. The three-time World Champion won four of the first five races (and the other one he did not finish). Yet since Miami he has won just three times and none of the last four races, with his last win coming at the Spanish Grand Prix in June.

Unfortunately during most of this downturn in form for both driver and team he has managed to increase his lead in the drivers’ standings to 78 points over McLaren’s Lando Norris, with Charles Leclerc 100 points adrift in third. That means that any realistic hopes of a championship challenge rely on a few DNFs from the Dutchman or Red Bull’s development taking several wrong turns. Both seem unlikely.

Fortunately the outlook is competitive in the constructors’ championship. McLaren, who are chasing their first team’s title since 1998 are just 42 points behind Red Bull with Ferrari a further 21 points away. McLaren have, on balance, the best “package” out there – not just the car but the driver line-up, too. Some strategic, driver and operational errors have cost them points since they leaped to the front in spring, but they are probably favourites to claim that title.

Mercedes have also put themselves back into the winning picture, triumphing in three of the last four races, but had such a terrible start to the season that contending for the constructors’ is a distant dream.

As we return to Zandvoort after the summer break the conditions have been very much autumnal with strong wind and plenty of rain since running began yesterday. There’s a chance of that again during qualifying, which begins at 2pm BST. We will be here for all the updates and latest from it.

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