Zandvoort - Qualifying

After a month-long break, Formula One is back in full force, this time dipping its fingers in the unexpected Dutch climate. The weekend began with an announcement: Jack Doohan, currently Alpine's reserve driver, will be promoted to main driver in the upcoming season. While this is great news for his fans it puts even more pressure on those who remain unsigned as with the Alpine seat now taken, only three seats on next year's grid are still up for grabs. 

The qualifying day started, as it often does, with the last practice session. This time, FP3 wasn't a great occasion for the drivers to get more accustomed to the track. It didn't run for even half of its set time as Logan Sargeant suffered a serious crash that left his car with significant damage. Thankfully, he wasn't harmed, but the day was over for him before it truly began. The driver did not appear on track during qualifying. 

By the time the qualifying hour began ticking down, the sky was clear and the track fairly dry. The first minutes of the session saw Ferrari significantly struggling, never reaching the level of McLaren, Red Bull, and Mercedes. But with a track like Zandvoort, where evolution makes all the difference, it wasn't long before we saw sudden and unexpected changes in the order. Sainz, who seemed to be in danger of falling into the elimination zone before Q2, used his last lap to put in a great time that helped him secure a spot at the top of the field. His teammate also found a lot of improvement with only a few seconds to spare and safely made it to the next part of qualifying. The same couldn't be said about Ricciardo, Ocon, Bottas, and Zhou. 

After their heartbeat-raising start of the day, the Ferraris decided to drive out on track as soon as the green light could be seen at the end of the pit lane. Both ran on their old tires and set times that could never compare to those their competitors would once they bolted on their fresh sets. Both Leclerc and Sainz dipped their toes into the murky waters of the elimination zone at one point or another. McLaren, Red Bull, and Mercedes, the unquestionable favorites for the pole, did well for the most part, with the one exception being Hamilton who found himself in the drop zone with less than a minute left until the end of the session. Although he was able to put in one more lap, it wasn't enough to get him into the top 10. His teammate didn't share his struggles however it should be noted that it seemed the two were running completely different setups. Sainz was the second surprise of the session, having been knocked out by his teammate and missing out on the top-ten shootout. Tsunoda, Hulkenberg, and Magnussen also did not make it through. 

Both McLarens were quick to go to the top of the third session, with Verstappen following closely in their footsteps. The Dutch driver was hungry for his home pole and it seemed like the only people between him and the coveted position were the two McLarens. He set good times, and with his last lap even managed to grab the provisional pole, but his efforts were not enough. Only a few seconds after the Dutch crowd roared for their lion, Norris improved his already impressive effort and jumped to the front of the field, securing his 4th career pole. His teammate, Piastri, closed out the top three, with Russel, Perez, and Leclerc close behind. 

Order of the grid:

1. Lando Norris

2. Max Verstappen

3. Oscar Piastri

4. George Russel

5. Sergio Perez

6. Charles Leclerc

7. Fernando Alonso

8. Alex Albon

9. Lance Stroll

10. Pierre Gasly

11. Carlos Sainz

12. Lewis Hamilton

13. Yuki Tsunoda

14. Nico Hulkenberg

15. Kevin Magnussen

16. Daniel Ricciardo

17. Esteban Ocon

18. Valtteri Bottas

19. Zhou Guanyu

20. Logan Sargeant