In case you missed yesterday’s qualifying session, here’s a rundown of everything you need to know.
Oscar Piastri will start first on the grid after pipping his teammate Lando Norris to pole by 0.012 seconds. Norris will start second, with Dutchman Max Verstappen in third and rookie Isack Hadjar in fourth.
Lando Norris (left) and Australia’s Oscar Piastri (right).Credit: Getty Images
Norris suggested it would take some magic, or strong strategy, to stop McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri stretching his Formula 1 lead from pole position in Sunday’s Dutch Grand Prix.
Australian Piastri has a slender nine-point advantage but can hope to take that back into double points at seaside Zandvoort where overtaking is always tricky and starting on pole a big benefit.
Norris, also on the front row, has an even tougher job against a rival driving the only other car that is exactly the same as his and who knows the game plan.
The Briton knows it can be done after starting on pole last year, losing out at the start to Red Bull’s local hero Max Verstappen and then passing on lap 18 on his way to eventual victory, but he said it would be different this time.
“No offence to Max, he was in a much slower car last year (than the current McLaren), so that helps a lot,” Norris, who was a mere twelve-thousandths of a second slower than Piastri on Saturday, told reporters.
“Oscar’s in a much quicker car this year and the hardest guy to overtake is your teammate. It’s going to take some magic or some good strategy or incredible tyre saving or something.
“It’s normally pretty difficult to overtake in the first place, it’s even harder to do that behind your teammate. I’ll see what I can dream of tonight.”
Reuters