Oscar Piastri on pole as F1 returns from summer break at Dutch Grand Prix
The Australian had an edge over his teammate throughout qualifying and took a vital pole position.
ZANDVOORT, The Netherlands – Oscar Piastri won pole position in a tense qualifying session for the Dutch Grand Prix, besting his rival and teammate Lando Norris who had been the quickest so far in the previous sessions.
"I'm really pleased with that," said the Australian.
"The car has felt good all weekend, so I am super happy.
"I’ve been chipping away steadily all weekend and managed to put it all together for my final lap, so I’m stoked to be on pole.
Piastri set the standard with a fast lap in Q1, with Lance Stroll hitting the barriers early in the session on his first attempt.
Franco Colapinto, Nico Hulkenberg, Esteban Ocon, and Ollie Bearman joined Stroll as they were knocked out on Q1.
Lando Norris returned to the top of the timesheets in Q2, setting up a battle between the two McLaren teammates for the final session, while Charles Leclerc spotted a fox on the track at turn 10.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Yuki Tsunoda, Gabriel Bortoleto, Pierre Gasly, and Alex Albon all departed from the session in Q2.
The McLarens went out early in Q3 and it was Piastri with the fastest time, with Norris in second, George Russell and Max Verstappen battling for third, and Lewis Hamilton, Charles Leclerc, Isack Hadjar, Fernando Alonso, Carlos Sainz, and Liam Lawson all battling for the remaining positions.
Piastri bettered his final sector while Norris improved in the second sector, but neither driver improved on their first run.
Verstappen looked fast on his attempt but nobody could best Piastri, while Hadjar stunned the field with an impressive lap that took him to fourth on the grid.
"That was the definition of peaking at the right time," said Piastri.
"I think the whole weekend, I've felt pretty good, but there's just been a couple corners that I've not been able to go any faster and I didn't really go any faster in those corners, but I found some more elsewhere.
"Super happy to come away with the result. Obviously still got all the points tomorrow, but it was looking like a little bit of a tricky weekend so far so to come away with that, I'm pretty stoked."
The Formula 1 Dutch Grand Prix is underway at 11.00pm Sunday (AEST).
