Oscar Piastri beat title rival Lando Norris in a thrilling battle for pole position for the Dutch Grand Prix as McLaren again blew away the field at Zandvoort.
Norris has won three of the last four races to close within nine points of team-mate Piastri in the drivers’ championship with 10 rounds remaining. But it was the Australian who came out on top in the qualifying scrap, delivering a sensational lap to beat Norris by just 0.012 seconds and claim his fifth pole of the season.
The British driver could not respond and will hope to hit back on the run down to the first corner, but will have to keep an eye on home favourite Max Verstappen, who put his Red Bull third on the grid.
The four-time world champion was 0.263 seconds off the pole pace and will have a tough task to keep the McLaren duo within range and delight the fervent Dutch support on Sunday. Isack Hadjar was an impressive fourth for Racing Bulls, with George Russell fifth for Mercedes and the Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton seventh.
Here’s how the standings look after the Dutch GP
F1 driver standings after Dutch GP
1. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) – 309 points
2. Lando Norris (McLaren) – 275 points
3. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) – 205 points
4. George Russell (Mercedes) – 184 points
5. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) – 151 points
6. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) – 109 points
7. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) – 64 points
8. Alex Albon (Williams) – 64 points
9. Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber) – 37 points
10. Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls) – 37 points
11. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) – 32 points
12. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) – 30 points
13. Esteban Ocon (Haas) – 27 points
14. Pierre Gasly (Alpine) – 20 points
15. Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) – 20 points
16. Ollie Bearman (Haas) – 16 points
17. Carlos Sainz (Williams) – 16 points
18. Gabriel Bortoleto (Sauber) – 14 points
19. Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull) – 12 points
20. Franco Colapinto (Alpine) – 0 points
21. Jack Doohan (Alpine) – 0 points
F1 constructor standings after Dutch GP
1. McLaren – 584 points
2. Ferrari – 260 points
3. Mercedes – 248 points
4. Red Bull – 214 points
5. Williams – 80 points
6. Aston Martin – 62 points
7. Racing Bulls – 60 points
8. Sauber – 51 points
9. Haas – 44 points
10. Alpine – 20 points
