F1 qualifying: Max Verstappen on pole for Dutch GP as Sergio Perez spin prevents Hamilton and Russell
Follow all the reaction to qualifying at the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort
The Formula 1 season continues after its return in Belgium last week with this weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort, with Max Verstappen holding a healthy 93-point lead in the World Championship with eight races to go.
The Red Bull star stormed to victory at Spa-Francorchamps at the weekend, winning by a margin of 18 seconds to team-mate Sergio Perez despite starting in P14 due to an engine penalty; Carlos Sainz took the other podium spot as he held off George Russell late on, while Charles Leclerc finished sixth. Lewis Hamilton retired for the first time this season following a first-lap collision with the Alpine of Fernando Alonso.
This weekend sees F1 roll into Zandvoort, which returned to the calendar last year when Verstappen comfortably won his home Grand Prix. The Mercedes duo of Russell and Hamilton earned Mercedes a one-two in first practice with Sainz third and Verstappen stopping after just 10 minutes due to a transmission issue. Second practice saw Leclerc lead a Ferrari one-two ahead of Sainz, with Hamilton third and Verstappen down in eighth with the news of Oscar Piastri signing for McLaren the main talking point from Friday.
Third practice saw Charles Leclerc go fastest - qualifying started at 2pm (BST).
Follow all the action here with The Independent:
F1 qualifying - Dutch Grand Prix: FP3 DONE!
Charles Leclerc stays quickest in FP3 but the top-three places are filled by the top-three teams - exciting ahead of qualifying this afternoon!
George Russell is second, a tenth off Leclerc, with Verstappen third - 0.161 seconds off Leclerc.
Sainz 4th, Hamilton 5th, Perez 6th. Fernando Alonso the best of the rest in seventh, with another world champion Sebastian Vettel in eighth.
Schumacher 9th, Norris 10th - all within a second off top spot!
F1 qualifying - Dutch Grand Prix: 10 minutes left!
All change at the top of the standings as drivers pump in their final hot laps in this practice session - Charles Leclerc is on top spot, less than a tenth quicker than George Russell in second.
Carlos Sainz is third with Lewis Hamilton fourth, half-a-second off Leclerc. Verstappen is down in sixth, but has just come out of the pits as he looks to beat Leclerc’s time...
Surprise names in the top-10? Both Sebastian Vettel and Lance Stroll in their Aston Martins, with the Wiliams of Alex Albon 10th, just over a second off the pace from Leclerc.
F1 qualifying - Dutch Grand Prix: Odds for qualifying!
Max Verstappen - 4/7
Charles Leclerc - 9/4
Sergio Perez - 7/1
Carlos Sainz - 7/1
Lewis Hamilton - 17/1
George Russell - 17/1
Fernando Alonso - 225/1
Lando Norris - 225/1
Odds provided by SBK
F1 qualifying - Dutch Grand Prix: Half-way through FP2!
Charles Leclerc has taken second spot away from George Russell, going within five-tenths of Verstappen who is still out in front. Lewis Hamilton also pops a good time, going third-fastest - six-tenths off Verstappen.
Meanwhile, a long conversation in the pit lane has just finished between Mercedes boss Toto Wolff and FIA president Mohammed bin Sulayem, taking place notably in the full glare of the pit lane amid a Formula 1 session. Wonder what that’s about...
Most cars have now switched to medium tryes as they trial some race runs.
F1 qualifying - Dutch Grand Prix: 15 minutes gone in FP3!
Straight out of the box, it seems as though normal service has been resumed here - Max Verstappen has gone six-tenths quicker than the rest of the field, ahead of George Russell in second and Mick Schumacher a surprise name in third.
Early on in the session but nonetheless, the hometown hero looks to be stamping his mark straight away on Saturday.
Lewis Hamilton sixth for now, with Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc fourth and fifth respectively...
F1 qualifying - Dutch Grand Prix: FP3 is underway!
This is the last chance for the drivers to get up to speed with Circuit Zandvoort before this afternoon’s qualifying session - can Red Bull turn it around after a difficult day on Friday and can Mercedes and Ferrari stay at the top of the timesheets?
Important hour of running for all the drivers and teams on the Dutch coast this morning!
Hamilton hopeful after promising practice
Lewis Hamilton finished just seven hundredths off the pace in practice for the Dutch Grand Prix to provide him with hope he could land his first win of the season.
Five days after the first-lap accident with Fernando Alonso in Belgium which forced him to retire, Hamilton ended a competitive day for his Mercedes team in third narrowly behind Ferrari pacesetter Charles Leclerc and his team-mate Carlos Sainz.
One hundred and five thousand fans are set to create a carnival atmosphere for homecoming king Max Verstappen on Sunday.
More on yesterday’s action:
Lewis Hamilton sparks hope of first win with Dutch GP practice pace
The seven-time world champion appears to be right in the mix alongside the pace-setting Ferraris at Zandvoort
Soap opera off-track overshadows start to Dutch GP weekend as Oscar Piastri saga concludes
While the weekend action began out on track in Zandvoort, Formula One’s most enthralling summer soap opera reached its conclusion with the news that Oscar Piastri has signed for McLaren.
The 2021 Formula Two champion has for the past month been in the middle of a squabbling match between McLaren and Alpine, with the latter’s public announcement that test driver Piastri would race for them next year immediately contradicted by the Australian himself on social media.
Finally though, we have our result. Piastri will race for McLaren, signing a “multi-year contract” as Lando Norris’s teammate.
Full story:
Soap opera off-track overshadows start to Dutch GP weekend as Piastri saga concludes
News of Oscar Piastri signing for McLaren was the hot topic of conversation on Friday despite Max Verstappen’s struggles at his home circuit
Driver championship
Current driver standings
1. Max Verstappen - 284 points
2. Sergio Perez - 191 points
3. Charles Leclerc - 186 points
4. Carlos Sainz - 171 points
5. George Russell - 170 points
6. Lewis Hamilton - 146 points
7. Lando Norris - 76 points
8. Esteban Ocon - 64 points
9. Fernando Alonso - 51 points
10. Valtteri Bottas - 46 points
11. Kevin Magnussen - 22 points
12. Sebastian Vettel - 20 points
13. Daniel Ricciardo -19 points
14. Pierre Gasly - 18 points
15. Mick Schumacher - 12 points
16. Yuki Tsunoda - 11 points
17. Guanyu Zhou - 5 points
18. Alex Albon - 4 points
19. Lance Stroll - 4 points
20. Nicholas Latifi - 0 points
21. Nico Hulkenberg - 0 points
What is the race schedule?
(All times BST)
Saturday 3 September
- Free practice 3: 11am
- Qualifying: 2pm
Sunday 4 September
- Race: 2pm
How to watch online and on TV?
The entire race schedule from Saturday to Sunday will be broadcast live on Sky Sports F1. Highlights will be aired on Channel 4; for qualifying and the race at 6:30pm (BST) on Saturday and Sunday respectively.
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