Lando Norris overcomes blustery conditions to take pole at Dutch Grand Prix

By Scott Hunt, Press Association F1 Reporter, Zandvoort

Lando Norris clinched pole position at the Dutch Grand Prix after banishing his sprint struggles to end the day on top at Zandvoort.

The reigning world champion gave a bleak outlook after he was unable to challenge sprint winner George Russell in Saturday’s 24-lap dash, ultimately clinging on to third after losing out to Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.

But Norris returned with a bang as he overcame testing conditions on the Dutch coast to pip Russell to pole by 0.102 seconds.

Championship leader Kimi Antonelli will start from third ahead of Oscar Piastri, while Lewis Hamilton endured a disappointing day in his title bid and qualified only fifth.

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Pole position is crucial here at Zandvoort, with all five races since it returned to the calendar in 2021 being won from the front of the grid.

It was a turnaround in mood for Norris, victor in Hungary last time out, who said his McLaren was “nowhere near good enough” after the sprint.

But he held it together on the final runs as the threat of weather loomed large over Zandvoort, seeing off the wind and spots of rain to seal his place at the front of the grid.

Russell gave his championship hopes a much-needed shot in the arm with a commanding victory in the 24-lap dash earlier in the afternoon.

Starting from pole, the 28-year-old blasted off the line and was never troubled as he cruised to victory – finishing 1.3 seconds clear of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who overtook Lando Norris on lap 18.

That allowed Russell to cut his deficit to team-mate Antonelli by three points to 56.

The Italian, who turns 20 next week, passed Oscar Piastri at the opening corner to claim fourth and that allowed him to actually extend his championship lead by three points from Lewis Hamilton, who is now 53 points back.

Hamilton could muster only seventh in the sprint, a disappointing start to his quest to clinch an eighth world championship over the second half of the season.

For Russell, though, after a tough run before the summer shutdown, it was a welcome boost and continued his fine sprint form with a third victory in the shortened format this season.

“The results haven’t been there but I think the underlying performance hasn’t been as bad as results have shown,” Russell said.

“For whatever reason, sprint races have been a bit of a strength for me this season which has been a bit of a surprise.

“Five sprints and I’ve been on pole for three of them and won three of them.”