Lando Norris Secures McLaren’s Second Consecutive Pole Position Against Mercedes at Zandvoort

McLaren has not yet said its last word in this Formula 1 world championship. After securing pole and winning the race in Hungary, Lando Norris will also start from the front in Zandvoort. The champion has stopped the clock at 1:11.163, edging out in a razor-tight qualifying with four drivers within a tenth and a half.

Fernando Alonso will have to climb back in Zandvoort. The Spanish driver did not put together his final lap, which left him eliminated in Q1, with an Aston Martin that is clearly faster in race trim than in qualifying. Alonso finished so frustrated that he began swinging at his steering wheel. The pace in the Sprint was promising, but a comeback is needed.

The Ferraris deflate and stay far from pole

Lando Norris has achieved in Zandvoort his second consecutive pole position. The British driver beat George Russell by barely a tenth, launching yet another challenge to Mercedes. Now Norris and McLaren’s task is to ensure the Sunday race pace is better than the Sprint, where their tires collapsed.

The race promises to be a tense mano-a-mano between the two Mercedes and the two McLaren. George Russell will start second, with KIMI ANTONELLI third. A fraternal duel with a world championship at stake that could be the golden opportunity for Oscar Piastri, the other McLaren, who will start from fourth and was within less than one and a half tenths of pole.

The ones who have fallen apart are the Ferraris. The upgrade package has not fully delivered, because Lewis Hamilton finished fifth, just ahead of Charles Leclerc, sixth. The problem is that they are more than three tenths from the pole, while on Friday they were almost tied. They have not evolved as expected.

Max Verstappen definitely has no tools to compete in his home race. The four-time champion will start seventh, with Liam Lawson, his temporary teammate, in eighth. A downbeat way to bid farewell to Zandvoort and to celebrate a renewal with Red Bull that could be regretted on a sporting level, not financially.

Gabriel Bortoleto continues a formidable season by placing the Audi ninth on the grid, the best of the rest. The other driver qualified for Q3 was rookie Arvid Lindblad, tenth with Racing Bulls. As for Carlos Sainz, he was the closest to making Q1, but he was eliminated and will start seventeenth.

In Aston Martin this time the driver faltered. Alonso was comfortably through to Q2, but he made a mistake on his final lap that prevented him from improving, and that plus the rivals’ accuracy condemned him to eighteenth. Alonso was so frustrated that he pounded his steering wheel, and it’s not surprising, because the AMR26 seems to have race pace.

Qualifying results Formula 1 Dutch Grand Prix 2026

Images | McLaren, Aston Martin