Verstappen claims Dutch GP pole over Leclerc

Although Red Bull and Max Verstappen dominated the Belgian Grand Prix, we knew that the track flattered the Red Bull’s given it was a power circuit. We also knew that coming to the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort, it would be a different story for Ferrari and it was.

Although Max Verstappen took pole by two hundredths of a second over Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, it is clear that the track is flattering the Ferrari as well as the Mercedes cars a lot more than Belgium and it made for a real battle out of the qualifying session.

Max led Leclerc and his Ferrari teammate, Carlos Sainz, in qualifying but notably, not by much and all three were just ahead of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell in their Mercedes cars. The Mercedes duo were split by Red Bull’s Sergio Perez who spun on the final lap bringing out caution flags and scuttling the final run for several drivers.

In the end, the Dutch Grand Prix will come down to race pace, tire management and a good start. Any bobble up front could leave the door wide open for Hamilton or Russell to sniff a podium finish.

A shame for Lance Stroll who did a masterful job to get to Q3 but couldn’t participate in the session due to a mechanical. He’ll start down in 10th.

Also keep an eye out for Lando Norris who made it to P7 in qualifying while his teammate, the out-going Daniel Ricciardo, couldn’t manage to get out of Q1. Lando could have pace and if he manages the race well, it will be a good points haul over the Alpines who missed out on Q3.

Dutch GP Qualifying Results: