ZANDVOORT, Netherlands (AP) — Max Verstappen can be beaten at his home Dutch Grand Prix, after all.
Lando Norris produced a blistering lap to qualify on pole position ahead of the three-time world champion on Saturday. Next he'll aim to end Verstappen's winning streak on home soil in Sunday's race, further cutting into the Dutch driver's lead at the top of the overall standings.
With gusts of wind off the North Sea creating unpredictable conditions for the drivers, Norris' final lap was far ahead of anyone else's pace, beating second-place Verstappen by .356 of a second. Norris said his McLaren felt “amazing” but that he expected Verstappen would “put up a good fight” in front of his home crowd.
Verstappen, who is heading into his 200th race on Sunday, had taken pole position and won all three of the races held at Zandvoort since the Dutch Grand Prix returned to the F1 schedule in 2021.
“I think the whole qualifying we just lacked a bit of pace,” Verstappen said, and suggested it would be hard to catch Norris on Sunday. “We’ll give it a good go, but of course, when you are more than three-tenths behind in qualifying, I think we have to be realistic.”
Norris has started on pole position three times before, but has yet to convert a pole into a win. To take a second career victory and cut into Verstappen’s 78-point lead, Norris will have to change that.
“I’ve started toward the front a lot of times. I know my stats are not the best for that and, more often than not, I’ve gone backwards rather than holding positions,” Norris said.
“But that’s just what I’ve done so far and I’ve worked hard, I’m working hard, to try and change that. But it’s not something that affects me. I’m not going to go out tomorrow to try and suddenly prove people wrong.”
It was wet and windy for much of the race weekend — including rain in two of the three practice sessions — but it stayed dry for qualifying.
McLaren has brought new upgrades for its car and qualifying gave the latest indication it now has the edge on pace over the once all-conquering Red Bull.
Norris took the only win of his career so far in Miami in May — from fifth on the grid — and has finished second four times since then.
Norris' last pole position in Hungary turned into a controversial second-place finish when he was overtaken by teammate Oscar Piastri, regained the lead thanks to McLaren's pit stop strategy, then eventually gave first place back to Piastri in line with team orders — but only after a tense discussion with McLaren over the radio.
Piastri could try to overtake Norris again after qualifying third-fastest in the second McLaren, ahead of Mercedes' George Russell and Verstappen's under-pressure Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez. Charles Leclerc was sixth for Ferrari.
There were two big surprises in the second part of qualifying as Carlos Sainz Jr. initially qualified 11th for Ferrari and seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton, who won the last race in Belgium after Russell was disqualified, had finished 12th for Mercedes.
Hamilton was then handed a three-place penalty for impeding Perez in qualifying, dropping him further back on what he had already called a “frustrating” day.
The stewards ruled Hamilton, who was on his way to the pits, had tried to move out of the way but “could have slowed down more” to make way for Perez, who was trying to set a competitive time.
Logan Sargeant didn’t take part in qualifying after a heavy crash in practice Saturday morning which left his Williams on fire. Sargeant wasn’t hurt and is set to start Sunday’s race at the back.
Williams' day went from bad to worse when Sargeant's teammate Alex Albon was disqualified from qualifying because the floor of his car was “found to lie outside the regulatory volume.” Albon had qualified eighth, so everyone behind him moves up a place. That means Sainz is set to start 10th and Hamilton 14th.
Williams argued its own measurements of the floor had “different results,” the FIA ruling said.
“We are incredibly disappointed with this outcome and will be carrying out a thorough investigation and will provide an update soon," Williams said.