Lando Norris beats Max Verstappen to take pole at the Dutch Grand Prix | Formula 1

Lando Norris took pole position for the Dutch Grand Prix with a superb lap at Zandvoort for McLaren, beating Red Bull’s Max Verstappen into second and his McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri into third.

There was disappointment for Lewis Hamilton who was knocked out in Q2 and finished 12th. His team-mate George Russell was fourth with Red Bull’s Sergio Perez in fifth.

On the narrow, winding challenge that undulates through the sand dunes of the coastline, Norris proved he had the right approach by executing the task with admirable precision.

During the opening runs in Q3, Piastri started with a strong lap but was quickly passed by Norris, who led the field with a lap of 1 min 10.074 sec, a tenth ahead of Piastri and Verstappen.

After a weekend of on and off rain, the track was still rubber-in as the session progressed with improved grip, building to a crescendo in the closing laps. Verstappen went out ahead of the two McLarens but, despite his commitment, he couldn’t keep up in the first sector. He threw himself into the rest of the lap and was quicker through the second and third sectors to take provisional pole.

Norris was not to be deterred. His final lap was an absolute thriller, pushing his car to its limits and reaching the limits of the circuit to go even faster with a masterful lap. Piastri followed but struggled and could not improve, finishing in third place. The extent of Norris’ superiority was breathtaking, his time of 1:09.673, a full three and a half tenths faster than Verstappen, a gap over such a short lap.

Hamilton faces a tough task on Sunday after his final run in Q2 wasn’t good enough, with a very poor first sector costing him dearly, losing him three tenths. It was a deficit he couldn’t overcome and it was enough to push him out of the top ten.

McLaren will be buoyed by a strong performance from their first significant round of upgrades since the Miami GP, which proved to be a revelation in terms of pace. The developments made in the Netherlands look set to continue that trend in further improving the car.

It is the fourth pole of Norris’ career and his second this season. It is his first at Zandvoort and the first time Verstappen has been denied the top spot since the Dutch GP returned to the calendar in 2021.

Norris took pole in Hungary last month, but a problem with his second-gear shift cost him the lead to Piastri, who eventually won after McLaren used team orders late in the race. Norris admitted the orders were fair, but will be determined to take control of this race and dictate from the front, as he knows he must do if he is to capitalise and close the gap to Verstappen, who leads the British driver by 78 points in the championship.

Charles Leclerc was sixth for Ferrari, Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll seventh and ninth for Aston Martin, Alex Albon eighth for Williams and Pierre Gasly tenth for Alpine.

Carlos Sainz was 11th for Ferrari, Yuki Tsunoda 13th for RB and Nico Hülkenberg and Kevin Magnussen 14th and 15th for Haas.

Williams’ Logan Sargeant crashed heavily in final practice, badly damaging his car and catching fire. The team were unable to repair the car in time and he will start from the back of the grid.

Daniel Ricciardo was 16th for RB, Esteban Ocon 17th for Alpine, and Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu 18th and 19th for Sauber.