Oscar Piastri perfectly placed to stretch F1 lead with Dutch Grand Prix pole

ZANDVOORT – Oscar Piastri snatched pole position on Aug 30 for the Dutch Grand Prix, locking up the front of the grid with his teammate Lando Norris as McLaren maintained their dominance of Formula One.

Piastri clocked a lap record time of 1min 8.662sec, 0.012 of a second ahead of Norris, to give himself a valuable advantage for the Aug 31 race.

It was the fifth pole position of the season for the Australian driver, who is seeking to extend his nine-point world championship lead over Norris.

The Briton had the edge in all three practice sessions, but Piastri hit back when it counted to give himself an advantage for the race.

“That was the definition of peaking at the right time,” Piastri said after the qualification.

“It was looking like a bit of a tricky weekend so far, so to come out with that, I’m pretty stoked.”

Norris was phlegmatic about his second place on the grid, noting there was barely anything between the two McLarens.

“There’s not too much to complain of. I think there were a couple of places where I wasn’t quite on a good enough limit and consistently losing a bit too much lap time today,” he told reporters. “So, some places and things I need to work on, but otherwise the laps were good and I’m still pretty happy.”

Grid position is seen as even more important at Zandvoort than elsewhere as it is a challenging circuit to overtake.

Home favourite Max Verstappen – in the unfamiliar position of outsider for his home Grand Prix – qualified in third position.

Verstappen sits 97 points behind Piastri in the world championship standings and has admitted that his Red Bull is off the pace this season.

He will be hoping that the famously unpredictable weather at the North Sea beach circuit of Zandvoort will play a role, as he is regarded as a brilliant wet weather driver.

He declared himself “very happy” with his third place on the podium, saying the crowd “really got the adrenaline pumping”.

The four-time world champion admitted that his main aim come race day would be to stay at the head of the pack chasing the McLarens.

“Qualifying was the best that I’ve felt all weekend,” he said.

“Still not of course on the level of McLaren, but at least to be P3 (third on the grid and 0.263sec back) is very good for us.”

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella told Sky Sports: “They’ve been very, very close throughout the qualifying session.

“And in Q3, the first attempt, I think they were 12 milliseconds apart, and the second attempt, like four milliseconds apart.

“Both drivers driving the car at the limit, and sometimes it’s just really mini-subtleties that make the difference. They both deserved the pole position but only one can have it. It was Oscar today, well done to Oscar.” 

Rookie driver Isack Hadjar scored an impressive fourth place on the grid for Racing Bulls, ahead of Mercedes driver George Russell.

One of the key talking points in the paddock ahead of the season’s 15th race has been the downbeat mood of seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton.

His high-profile move from Mercedes to Ferrari has not started as planned and he sparked retirement concerns when he recently described himself as “completely useless”.

The 40-year-old Briton had an unhappy time, twice spinning his Ferrari, and he qualified seventh, just behind his teammate Charles Leclerc.

Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll spun off early into the gravel in the first qualifying session, after touching the grass and losing control.

RB’s Liam Lawson, Williams’ Carlos Sainz and Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso completed a top 10 with seven teams represented.

An unusual race hazard also appeared in the shape of a fox, which sauntered across the track in front of Leclerc’s Ferrari, fortunately making it safely to the other side. AFP, REUTERS