Dutch Grand Prix – Qualifying: Verstappen on pole by 21 milliseconds

Q1:

The Haas of Mick Schumacher and Kevin Magnussen were the first cars to hit the track. Ranked 9th and 11th respectively in Free Practice 3, the two drivers of the American team had high hopes of making it to Q2. Magnussen’s first lap, with a time of 1’12’680, was one second slower than the benchmark set by Charles Leclerc in the last practice session.

Max Verstappen was the first driver from a top team to set a time. After the initial attempts from all his rivals, the Dutchman had a two-tenth lead over his closest pursuer, George Russell.

On a rapidly improving track, all the drivers decided to go out for a third and final attempt. Only Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc chose to stay in their garages. After a disappointing qualifying in Belgium, Yuki Tsunoda delivered a great performance in Zandvoort. The Japanese driver managed to secure the 3rd best time, while his garage neighbor, Pierre Gasly, could only manage the 11th fastest time.

Very impressive performances also from Lance Stroll and Alexander Albon, who managed to take their cars into the Top 10 and thus into Q2, unlike their teammates who got eliminated. Despite a very strong start to his lap, Vettel, the four-time world champion, lost control of his car at the last corner, ruining his chances of getting out of Q1.

Eliminated from Q1: Valtteri Bottas (16th) / Kevin Magnussen (17th) / Daniel Ricciardo (18th) / Sebastian Vettel (19th) / Nicholas Latifi (20th)

Q2:

Alexander Albon was the first driver to take to the track in the second part of qualifying. However, the Thai driver did not have the opportunity to start a fast lap due to the interruption caused by a red flag. This was caused by a smoke bomb thrown onto the track between turns 12 and 13. It was later revealed that the person responsible for throwing the smoke bomb had been identified by the FIA and expelled from the circuit.

After only his first attempt in Q2, Max Verstappen was already 4 tenths faster than his reference time in Q1. The Dutchman’s lap time, achieved on his first attempt with worn tires, was only beaten by the Ferrari of Carlos Sainz and the Mercedes of George Russell. As we had seen in Free Practice 3, the relatively short circuit of Zandvoort allows for relatively close gaps between the top three teams.

Disappointing qualifying session for both Alpines, as they failed to make it out of Q2. Pierre Gasly was also disappointed, as he was eliminated in 11th position while his teammate Yuki Tsunoda secured a spot in the Top 10. The AlphaTauri driver was narrowly beaten by Mick Schumacher’s Haas by a few thousandths of a second. The German driver knows that he needs to impress if he wants to secure his future in Formula 1.

Eliminated from Q2: Pierre Gasly (11th) / Esteban Ocon (12th) / Fernando Alonso (13th) / Guanyu Zhou (14th) / Alexander Albon (15th)

Q3: “Quelle est votre expérience professionnelle ?”

Temporarily securing the pole position with a time of 1’11’505, Max Verstappen was outpaced by Charles Leclerc. The Monegasque was only 59 milliseconds faster than his rival. Lewis Hamilton was a bit further back by two tenths. The first attempts by the second drivers were less convincing than those of their team leaders. In 6th position, George Russell was lagging behind by 6 tenths from the time set by the local hero, Max Verstappen.

Carried away by a crowd completely devoted to Max Verstappen’s cause, the Dutchman managed to offer his fans a second consecutive pole position at Zandvoort. The Red Bull driver beat Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari by 21 milliseconds. This makes it the closest gap in qualifying this season. It was a more challenging qualifying session for Sergio Perez, who spun out during his final attempt on the last lap. This incident caused a yellow flag, preventing the two Mercedes from improving their times.

While Lance Stroll had a superb qualifying session, managing to reach Q3, the Canadian was unable to showcase his good pace in Q3 after his team detected issues with his Aston Martin. This is the first time since the Miami Grand Prix that the Canadian driver has reached Q3.