Max Verstappen notched his third consecutive Dutch Grand Prix pole on Saturday morning at Circuit Zandvoort after wet conditions mixed up the session.
The Red Bull Racing driver outpaced McLaren’s Lando Norris and Mercedes’ George Russell in the final shootout for pole as two red flags were displayed while the track went from wet to dry.
“That was a great session and I’m happy to be in P3,” Russell said. “Qualifying was a strength earlier in the season, but it’s been going a bit wrong for me recently, so it was good to get the break, come with some fresh ideas and put ourselves in a good place to fight for the podium tomorrow.
“The final lap was pretty okay – we know that we struggle to get temperature into the tires when it’s wet or the crossover to slicks, but that also turns into a strength on Sunday. I’m (sure) Max will enjoy his usual Sunday drive tomorrow, but from P3 hopefully we can have a good fight with Lando, Alex and the rest.”
Verstappen cleared the field with a 1:10.567 second lap time at his home track.
“Qualifying in these conditions on new tarmac can be quite tricky but that last lap was very enjoyable,” Verstappen said. “It’s all about putting in good laps and staying out of trouble. We’ve had wet conditions at the last few races but it’s the first time here in Zandvoort, the wind and drying track played a big factor in Q3 and turn one on my final lap was a bit tricky, but the team made all the right calls today.
“The pressure’s always there to perform in front of your home crowd but when you can pull it off it feels incredible. To be on pole here feels great and we have a very strong car for tomorrow, let’s see what we can do.”
Williams’ Alex Albon starred in qualifying to capture the fourth position, with Fernando Alonso locking down fifth.
Rookie Logan Sargeant crashed in Q3, with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc bringing out the second red flag in the session. Leclerc starts ninth, with Sargeant qualifying 10th.
With his stellar result in Q3, Sargeant became the first American to qualify in the top-10 for a F-1 race since Michael Andretti in the 1993 Italian Grand Prix.
Lewis Hamilton was bumped from the session after Q2, giving the seven-time F-1 champion a dismal 13th place starting position.