With its looks, sound and spectacle, the Dutch Grand Prix is not for the faint of heart. Just the level of noise generated by the enthusiastic crowd bobbing along to the relentless pounding of techno music is almost paralyzing. But that was nothing compared to the cheers that echoed across the dunes of Zandvoort as Max Verstappen took pole. After a nerve-wracking finale, this was an exhalation that elicited as much relief as ecstasy.
With their orange capes flapping in the wind at this circuit on the edge of the North Sea, these fans had come to celebrate and pay homage to the World Champion in his first home game since winning the title. One went too far when a flare was thrown onto the track, but for most the excitement and anticipation was palpable. But they certainly didn’t expect such a massive fight for the top spot.
Red Bull’s Verstappen held the lead, but only by a tiny margin and only after being pushed to his limits by Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. The Dutchman had to give everything and put in a great lap, especially after slipping off pace in practice on Friday.
“Incredible, especially after we had a difficult day yesterday,” he said. “The whole team turned it around and today we had a fast car again. It was very close, but the pole lap was amazing.”
On his first run in Q3, Verstappen went to the limit, right on the edge due to Hugenholtz’s leaning. He set a time of 1min 10.515s but Leclerc followed him and found more. Particularly strong in the first third, he took the lead by six hundredths of a second.
It was a huge lap to meet Verstappen’s efforts but with the track still evolving the final heats were crucial and incredibly tense. The track is only 2.6 miles long, narrow and unforgiving. The corners come with relentless repetition, leaving no room for error, and there was almost nothing in the sharp end.
Leclerc led out the leaders and improved his first sector time. But behind him Verstappen was quicker with a hugely impressive middle sector and by the tiniest margin savored the best of the run to the finish line, taking pole by two-hundredths with a time of 1’10.342 in a thrilling finish.
A flare was thrown onto the track causing a delay in Q2. Photo: Peter J. Fox/Getty Images
Behind him, Carlos Sainz was third, but Mercedes drivers Lewis Hamilton and George Russell disappointed in fourth and sixth. Both had been setting fast laps with Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff in their recent runs and had explained that Hamilton was a tenth ahead of Verstappen when his Red Bull teammate Sergio Pérez lost laps in the final corner, forcing both to retire .
Hamilton still thinks a podium finish is possible. “The car was strong today and I felt like I could go faster,” he said. “I hope that carries over to tomorrow. I will definitely give everything to get on the podium.”
The high-spirited atmosphere was clearly too much for some. Dutch fans have increasingly lit orange torches since flocking to meetings with Verstappen as champion. A flare landed on the track early in Q2 and delayed the session. Signs at the entrance to the circuit emphasize that torches are prohibited but were clearly ignored. The perpetrator was removed by security and Verstappen condemned the behavior. “Throwing it out on the track is just stupid,” he said, “that’s no good for anyone and it’s dangerous for us.”
The Dutchman is in a commanding position in the championship race. With nine wins, he is 93 points clear of Pérez and 98 points clear of Leclerc. With another decent points tally, he could potentially complete his second title as early as Singapore or Japan. With overtaking being very difficult here and starting from the front, he’s in a strong position to get a step closer.
Lando Norris was seventh for McLaren, Mick Schumacher eighth for Haas, Yuki Tsunoda ninth for AlphaTauri and Lance Stroll tenth for Aston Martin.
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Pierre Gasly was 11th for AlphaTauri, Esteban Ocon and Fernando Alonso 12th and 13th for Alpine, Guanyu Zhou 14th for Alfa Romeo and Alex Albon 15th for Williams.
Valtteri Bottas was 16th for Alfa Romeo, Kevin Magnussen 17th for Haas and Daniel Ricciardo 18th for McLaren. Sebastian Vettel was 19th for Aston Martin and Nicholas Latifi 20th for Williams.
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