Lando Norris produced a stunning lap to deny Max Verstappen pole position at his home Dutch Grand Prix for the first time in his career.
McLaren’s Norris had established himself as the favourite for pole by narrowly topping Q2 in windy conditions at Zandvoort, but went 0.356s clear of Red Bull’s Verstappen on the final round of flying laps at the end of the session.
The result boosts Norris’ hopes of chasing down world championship leader Verstappen, who he trails by 78 points at the top of the drivers’ standings.
Given Verstappen never appeared to have the pace to take pole, the Dutchman will be relieved that he was able to beat Norris’ McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri to second, with the Australian producing a sloppy final lap.
George Russell took fourth for Mercedes after team-mate Lewis Hamilton, who won two of the last three races before the sport’s summer break, qualified 12th following a shock Q2 exit.
Hamilton was later given a three-grid place penalty for impeding Sergio Perez, so will start 14th – as Alex Albon was disqualified for an illegal car.
Verstappen’s under-pressure team-mate Perez took fifth for Red Bull, who are attempting to defend a lead of just 42 points over McLaren at the top of the constructors’ standings.
Charles Leclerc was sixth for Ferrari, whose poor form continued as team-mate Carlos Sainz could only manage 11th as he was also knocked out in Q2.
Fernando Alonso led a solid effort from Aston Martin by taking seventh ahead of team-mate Lance Stroll in ninth, with the pair split by a fine lap by Williams’ Albon. However, Albon was disqualified after qualifying as his car failed to meet the floor regulations.
Albon will join team-mate Logan Sargeant at the back of the grid as the American didn’t feature in the session with Williams unable to repair his car after a big crash in final practice.
Norris: The car felt amazing
Having returned from the summer break stating that he still believes he has “chances” to pull off what would be a historic comeback over the 10 remaining races this season, Norris delivered the perfect start.
The wet and windy conditions at Zandvoort throughout practice on Friday and on Saturday morning made it difficult to assess the impact of the upgrade package McLaren have brought to the Netherlands, but when it mattered most the MCL38 delivered.
Norris had edged Piastri in Q2, and bettered his team-mate by a tenth in the first runs of Q3, but saved his best until last.
Verstappen’s Orange Army of fans roared as the Dutchman took provisional pole, but there was a stunned silence just moments later as Norris rocketed clear.
“An amazing day. Nice to be back and start with a pole. It was a nice lap,” Norris said. “Qualifying was always pretty smooth and we did some good laps, especially the one at the end. Great job by the team and I’m happy.
“I felt comfortable out there. The car felt amazing. We had some upgrades and everything is working very well.
“I’m excited for tomorrow. I’m sure it will be tough. Max has been quick all weekend. I know we got him today but he’s still second and will put up a good fight, especially at his home race.”
It was something of a surprise that Piastri was unable to secure a front-row lockout, but the second McLaren could still prove to be his team-mate’s main threat in Sunday’s race.
Verstappen has taken pole and won the race on all three of his previous appearances at his home race, but appears to have accepted beating the McLarens will be a major challenge.
“We will give it a good go but when you are more than three tenths behind in qualifying, I think you have to be realistic,” Verstappen said. “I will just try to have a good race.”
Hamilton makes shock exit, then penalised
In the opening stages of Q1 it had appeared that Hamilton might keep his strong run of form going, with the seven-time world champion topping the timesheet after the first runs and easing through.
However, he found himself fifth after the first runs in Q2 and half a second back from Norris’ leading effort.
While the top four of Norris, Piastri, Russell and Verstappen opted not to go for a second run, Hamilton did, but was surprisingly outpaced by the likes of Albon and Gasly.
Hamilton’s challenge was further stiffened after he was given a three-place grid penalty for impeding Perez during Q1, so he will start Sunday’s race down in 14th.
“It was a pretty shocking session,” he said. “These things happen and it’s done now but it doesn’t feel good.”
Hamilton wasn’t the only big-name casualty in Q2, with Sainz making a less surprising departure following a challenging build-up.
In addition to Ferrari’s general lack of performance, the Spaniard had to contend with missing most of second practice, which allowed the only dry running of the weekend on Friday.
His chances were further hampered by Sargeant’s crash in final practice, which saw the majority of the session wiped out as a damaged barrier was repaired.
*given three-grid place penalty and drops to 14th
**disqualified, so will start 20th and last
Sky Sports F1’s live Dutch GP schedule
Sunday August 25
9.40am: F1 Academy: Race Two
12:30pm: Grand Prix Sunday: Dutch GP build-up
2pm: The DUTCH GRAND PRIX
4pm: Chequered Flag: Dutch GP reaction
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