The afternoon could not have gone better for Max Verstappen in Zandvoort. In front of a noisy public won over to his cause – and guilty of two jets of smoke on the track – the leader of the World Championship won the 17th pole position of his career, the 2nd in a row at home in the Netherlands, at the end of a terribly hung Q3. Between the Red Bull driver, who will start in the lead, and Carlos Sainz (Ferrari), 3rd on the grid behind his teammate Charles Leclerc, there was only a 91 thousandths difference at the end of a magnificent last flying lap.
Verstappen was able to raise his voice
In difficulty on Friday during free practice, hampered by a gearbox problem, Verstappen had found his colors in EL3 this Saturday, signing the 3rd time behind Leclerc and Russell (Mercedes). Did he purposely save the best for last? The driver n°1 in any case seemed to be in management in Q1 and Q2, going out only once in each session to slam sufficient times to be safe. Best time in Q1, he allowed himself to come out in worn rubber in Q2, seeing only Sainz and Russell pass in front on the wire.
In Q3, the battle promised to be tight as Red Bull, Ferrari and Mercedes stood in a pocket handkerchief. Temporarily overtaken by Leclerc, Verstappen was able to raise his voice at the end of the session to steal pole from Monegasque for two hundredths! Sainz moved up to third, and while the Mercedes seemed to be off to a good start, they had to stop their effort after Sergio Perez went off the track before turn 14, freezing the places as they were. Hamilton will start 4th ahead of the Mexican, Russell 6th.
The French frustrated, Schumacher satisfied
This qualifying session was frustrating for several drivers. Vettel (Aston Marin) was on track to move into Q2 before going out in the gravel. Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri) misses Q3 for less than a tenth behind his teammate Yuki Tsunoda. Ocon (Alpine) will start 12th ahead of Alonso, who had a good time blaming Perez’s trajectory to justify his disappointing time. In terms of satisfaction, Mick Schumacher (Haas) had a very good session and will start 8th on the grid, ahead of Tsunoda and Stroll, who could not start in Q3 following a hydraulic problem.