McLaren’s Lando Norris beat Mercedes’ George Russell to pole position at the Dutch Grand Prix during a frantic scramble to complete laps before a late shower of rain.
Norris pipped Russell by 0.102 seconds as raindrops began to appear on the drivers’ visors. They completed their runs earlier than they would normally do because of the weather.
Russell’s team-mate Kimi Antonelli was the first to improve on his final lap, briefly rising to the top of the times.
However, he was beaten to first by Norris, who consolidated the first place he had won on the first laps in the final session, and then Russell.
Antonelli, the championship leader, was 0.031secs behind Russell and 0.009secs faster than the second McLaren of Oscar Piastri.
In the end, significant rain did not come as expected, and Lewis Hamilton, who left it late to do his final lap, snuck ahead of team-mate Charles Leclerc as the Ferraris locked out the third row in fifth and sixth places.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen starts his final home grand prix, with the Dutch race falling off the calendar after this season, from seventh place.
His stand-in team-mate Liam Lawson, replacing Frenchman Isack Hadjar who broke his wrist in the run-up to the race, was impressive in lapping just 0.0115secs slower than the Dutchman to take eighth place ahead of the Audi of Gabriel Bortoleto and Racing Bulls’ British rookie Arvid Lindblad.
More to follow.
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