McLaren’s Lando Norris put in a storming lap to secure pole position for the Dutch Grand Prix, during a dramatic qualifying that saw both Carlos Sainz and Lewis Hamilton knocked out in Q2.

Finlay McSporran
Published: 17:27, 24th August 2024

Before qualifying even began however, there was a huge crash for Logan Sargeant during FP3.

The American had dipped a wheel in the grass as he went up the hill, sending the car spinning out of control and into the barriers with such force that it completely destroyed the rear wing of the Williams, setting it on fire!

Thankfully no one was harmed in the incident, however it ruled Sargeant out of qualifying and potentially even the race tomorrow, given the extent of the damage.

With the red flag for Logan’s crash as well as the mixed conditions there was very little running during FP3, with the session being topped by Pierre Gasly in the Alpine.

Q1

Qualifying would get underway on a dry track as the drivers made their way around the circuit to start their flying laps. One of those drivers was Lewis Hamilton, who was noted by the stewards for impeding Sergio Perez who was on a flying lap at the time.

Not that it mattered to much, as Perez went on to top Q1 anyway, as Riccardo, Ocon, Bottas, Zhou and Sargeant, who didn’t compete, were knocked out in the first part of qualifying.

Q2

Norris would top Q2 from his teammate Piastry, the McLaren pair only doing one flying lap each which was good enough to get through.

Unfortunately for Lewis Hamilton, his second lap wasn’t good enough to get through, as he failed to improve on his first run which knocked him out of qualifying.

However, he wasn’t the only high profile driver who failed to progress to Q3, as Carlos Sainz was knocked down into the drop zone by his teammate Charles Leclerc who ended the session 6th.

Also knocked out in Q2 was Yuki Tsunoda and the Haas pair of Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen.

Q3

Similar to Q2, Norris would set the early pace on the first runs, as he was P1 with Piastry in second and Verstappen 3rd as the clock ticked down.

The Dutch crowd had been hoping for a 4th consecutive pole for Verstappen around this circuit, and it looked like he’d one it again, as he went to the top of the table on his final run, just 0.045s ahead of Norris, who himself was also flying.

The crowds cheers were short lived however, as Norris crossed the line to take P1, a brilliant lap from the Briton to take pole by 0.356s.

Full Qualifying Results:

#	DRIVER	TEAM	TIME
1	Lando NORRIS	McLaren	1:09.673
2	Max VERSTAPPEN	Red Bull	1:10.029
3	Oscar PIASTRI	McLaren	1:10.172
4	George RUSSELL	Mercedes	1:10.244
5	Sergio PÉREZ	Red Bull	1:10.416
6	Charles LECLERC	Ferrari	1:10.582
7	Fernando ALONSO	Aston Martin	1:10.633
8	Alexander ALBON	Williams	1:10.653
9	Lance STROLL	Aston Martin	1:10.857
10	Pierre GASLY	Alpine	1:10.977
11	Carlos SAINZ	Ferrari	1:10.914
12	Lewis HAMILTON	Mercedes	1:10.948
13	Yuki TSUNODA	VCARB	1:10.955
14	Nico HULKENBERG	Haas	1:11.215
15	Kevin MAGNUSSEN	Haas	1:11.295
16	Daniel RICCIARDO	VCARB	1:11.943
17	Esteban OCON	Alpine	1:11.995
18	Valtteri BOTTAS	Stake	1:12.168
19	Guanyu ZHOU	Stake	1:13.261
20	Logan SARGEANT	Williams

Tags:

Formula 1

Dutch Grand Prix