Piastri pips Norris in Zandvoort qualifying

Having been quickest in all three free practice sessions and the first two parts of qualifying, Lando Norris was pipped to pole by team-mate Oscar Piastri in Q3. The Australian was just 12 thousandths of a second quicker (1’08”662 to 1’08”674, equivalent to 74 centimetres). This is the fifth career pole for the championship leader, all of them coming this season. For McLaren it is pole number 173, its third at this circuit.

The second row of the grid features two Honda-powered cars, with the Red Bull of Max Verstappen third in 1’08”925 ahead of Isack Hadjar in the Racing Bulls with a 1’09”208, the Frenchman’s best ever qualifying performance.

The Pirelli Pole Position Award was presented to Piastri by Julio Cruz. The retired Argentinian footballer won four championships, three Italian Supercoppe and two Coppe Italia in 2003 and 2009 with Inter Milan. He bid farewell to the game a year later when he was playing for Lazio. During the presentation, “El Jardinero” as he is known, wore the special Inter Milan edition of the Pirelli Cap, celebrating 30 years of a partnership between the Italian side and Pirelli, one of the longest and most important collaborations in the world of football. Only 1995 of the caps were produced, recognising the year in which the partnership began. 

THE DAY ON TRACK 

In the third free practice session, a further six drivers used a set of Hards, producing competitive runs: Colapinto and Gasly for Alpine, Ocon and Bearman for Haas and Hulkenberg and Bortoleto for Sauber. The McLaren and Ferrari drivers scrubbed-in a set of C2 over one lap. Soft was the only compound used in qualifyinig. The C4 proved it could deliver maximum potential on its first flying lap. Those who equalled their first time on a second run managed it thanks to track evolution, which was even significant within individual segments of the decisive session.

MARIO ISOLA – PIRELLI DIRECTOR OF MOTORSPORT

“On a track where overtaking is definitely difficult, qualifying takes on even more importance than usual in deciding the race result. While the McLarens seem to have the edge over the rest of the field, their two drivers are separated by almost nothing, just 12 thousandths of a second in fact. It’s very close behind this pair, with the remaining 18 drivers all within the same second. Therefore, all the ingredients are in place to produce a closely contested, unpredictable race, with the changeable weather adding another unknown factor to the mix, as well as the possibility of Safety Cars always present on a track where mistakes are always punished.

“Although simulation shows that the two-stop strategy has a slight advantage in terms of overall time, we are well aware that the teams will try and make only a single pit stop, because track position established on the opening lap is all important. Therefore we believe that a strategy based on a first stint on the Medium and a second with the Hard is the most likely, as it allows teams to cover for the possibility of rain or a Safety Car. For those opting for a two-stop the most likely choice is to use all three compounds, also because only McLaren and Aston Martin have two sets of Hards available.

“The increase in the pit lane speed limit from 60 to 80 km/h will have a significant impact on the time lost during a pit stop, dropping from around 22 seconds to 19 or 20. But that’s not enough to make the two-stop really attractive. As for the undercut, we saw here in Zandvoort last year that it is very effective which is one more factor to take into consideration in preparing for the race.”

Nina Gademan (Alpine Prema) won her home race from pole position with the other Dutch driver Maya Weug (Ferrari-MP) also finishing on the podium after a fine climb up the order from sixth on the grid. She took the chequered flag right on the tail of the second placed  driver, the American, Lia Block (Williams-ART Grand Prix).

Third place means Weug has slightly closed the gap in the championship to Doriane Pin (Mercedes-Prema) who still leads on 112 points, and Chloe Chambers (Red Bull Ford-Campos) second on 93 while the Ferrari driver is third with 79.