Lando Norris took Pole Position during the F1 Quali at the 2024 Dutch GP, clearing home-hero Max Verstappen – who will start in P2 – by three tenths of a second. McLaren’s Oscar Piastri will start behind his teammate in P3 beside the Mercedes of George Russell. It was a better Quali session for Sergio PĂ©rez, who classified in P5.
The session was less-than-perfect for Mercedes and Ferrari, however. Both teams only had one car each in Q3 after Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz were knocked out in Q2. Alex Albon had an entirely different day of running to his teammate Logan Sargeant – while Sargeant failed to make it out of the pits due to extensive damage from FP3, Albon was able to qualify in P8.
As It Happened
Q1
At the green light, Nico HĂŒlkenberg was first out on track followed by the two Kick Saubers of Zhou Guan and Valtteri Bottas – who finished FP3 in P3 due to Logan Sargeant’s incident limiting running.
HĂŒlkenberg’s initial time was a 1:13.062, which was quickly bettered by most of the field in their first flying lap. Ferrari seemed to be off-the-pace from the get-go, with Leclerc failing to get ahead of Lance Stroll’s 1:11.832, before themselves and Albon were all pushed down by Oscar Piastri.
With 11 minutes remaining, Hamilton was at the top of the times with a 1:11.375 and Lando Norris slotted into P2 two thousandths behind, but had left some time on the table after a less-than-perfect lap.
Nine minutes remained and Max Verstappen was on a flying lap, but crossed the line 0.018s behind Hamilton, leaving him down in P3. His teammate Sergio PĂ©rez was sitting in P8.
The only car yet to leave the pits was Sargeant – his car was still not ready despite the Williams crew working hard since the crash in FP3.
PĂ©rez Impeded?
An incident between Hamilton and PĂ©rez left the Mexican angry on the radio – he believed that Hamilton had impeded him at Turn 8 – but Hamilton appeared to do his best to get out of the way of the flying Red Bull. The incident was noted, and passed on to the stewards.
George Russell was on the radio complaining of a lack of grip – the mixture of wind, sand on the circuit and a lack of rubbering from the heavy rain could be part of the cause.
With four minutes to go, the two RBs, Kick Saubers and Logan Sargeant were in the bottom five. All except Sargeant – who never made it out of the pits – were back out in a bid to make it into Q2.
Meanwhile, Verstappen was on another flying lap but appeared to still be having trouble with the Red Bull. The Dutchman, eager for another win at his home race, was wrestling the car around Zandvoort and abandoned the lap – he would be through into Q2 regardless.
The track was improving as the clock hit thirty seconds to go – Carlos Sainz was up to P1 with a flying lap, his teammate slotting into P2 behind. Despite struggling for grip, Russell would finish the session in P2 behind PĂ©rez, who put the second Red Bull into P1 at the last moment. However, there were still two sessions to go during the F1 Quali session at the 2024 Dutch GP.
Daniel Ricciardo, Esteban Ocon, Valtteri Bottas, Zhou Guanyu and Logan Sargeant were eliminated in Q1, classifying in P16 to P20 respectively.
Q2
As Q2 commenced, the two Ferraris were first out on track, eager to get a lap time on the board. Charles Leclerc was four tenths faster through the middle sector alone, and while the Monegasque driver lost a couple in the final sector, he slotted into P1 ahead of his teammate with a 1:11.665.
With ten minutes to go, all cars were out on track apart from Leclerc, who had re-entered the pits. The McLarens were quick; Piastri was already a second ahead of the Ferraris by the end of the second sector. Norris was even quicker yet with a 1:10.496 – nine thousandths of a second ahead of his teammate. Verstappen, suffering from terrible oversteer, slotted into P3, three tenths down. The Aston Martin of Stroll sat in P4 ahead of PĂ©rez in the second Red Bull. However, PĂ©rez was down in P7 by the time the two Mercedes had completed a run.
On the chopping block with five minutes to go were the two Haas cars, Pierre Gasly, Yuki Tsunoda and Alex Albon. All drivers were in the pits by this point, waiting for the optimal time to head out for one final flying lap. However, the top four did not leave the pits, choosing to save their tyres while the rest of the field battled it out for the Q3 slots. HĂŒlkenberg was first out for his final lap of the session, failing to make it out of the bottom five. Gasly, who was teetering on the edge of the cutoff, put his Alpine into P5 on a track that was rapidly improving.
Trouble for Mercedes and Ferrari
In a dramatic turn of events, Mercedes and Ferrari, two front-running teams, would only have one driver in Q3 after Sainz and Hamilton were knocked out, along with Tsunoda, HĂŒlkenberg and Magnussen in P11 to P15 respectively.
Norris remained at the top of the times with his 1:10.496, followed by Piastri’s 1:10.505 and Russell’s 1:10.552.
Q3
The two McLarens, along with Verstappen, had an advantage going into Q3 with two new sets of Soft tyres – as opposed to the rest of the field with one. The three cars with two sets were first out at the green light, along with Leclerc and Piastri. It was a shootout between Piastri and Verstappen for fastest sectors – before Norris snatched them for himself. Verstappen emerged the slowest of the three – posting a 1:10.22. Piastri managed a 1:10.193, but it was Norris who was quickest with a 1:10.074.
The remaining Mercedes of George Russell was sitting in P4, four tenths off the pace after the first Q3 run, ahead of Leclerc who was two tenths slower than the Mercedes. The frontrunners came back into the pits, while the two Aston Martins headed out. Perez and Albon remained in the pits on a different strategy to the rest of the bottom six.
Stroll, after a scrappy lap, could only manage a 1:10.857 leaving him in P6. Meanwhile, his teammate Alonso demoted Leclerc to P6, slotting in behind Russell.
The remainder of the grid then took to the track with 90 seconds to go. It was a head-to-head between Norris and and Verstappen, with the Dutchman taking Pole momentarily before Norris, having bettered his own time, flew three tenths clear of the home-hero with a 1:09.673. Piastri could only manage P3 – half a second down on his teammate. The Australian will start the race from the second row alongside George Russell, demoting PĂ©rez to P5. Leclerc classified in P6 at the F1 Quali of the 2024 Dutch GP, followed by Alonso, Albon, Stroll and Gasly to complete the top ten.
Featured Image Credit: McLaren F1 Team
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