(Formula 1) – OSCAR Piastri has sealed pole position for the Dutch Grand Prix after beating McLaren team mate Lando Norris in a thrilling battle that played out through to the closing moments of qualifying.

While Norris had led the way during all three practice sessions throughout the weekend, Piastri laid down a gauntlet by going quickest in Q1. Norris then set the pace in Q2, culminating in a close scrap in Q3 that saw Piastri grab provisional pole with his effort of 1m 08.662s.

Norris tried to better this during the final runs but, with neither driver improving, the Briton had to settle for P2, with his time being just 0.012s adrift of his team mate’s. Max Verstappen, meanwhile, gave his home crowd something to cheer about by slotting his Red Bull into third.

Isack Hadjar claimed an impressive career-best result of P4 in the Racing Bulls machine, putting himself ahead of Mercedes’ George Russell in P5 and the Ferrari pair of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton in P6 and P7 respectively.

Liam Lawson completed a double top-10 showing for Racing Bulls in eighth, with Williams’ Carlos Sainz and Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso rounding out the order in ninth and 10th places.

Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli just missed out on the top 10 shootout in P11, as was the case for Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda in P12. Gabriel Bortoleto claimed P13 for Kick Sauber, with Alpine’s Pierre Gasly joining him on the seventh row in P14.

Alex Albon, meanwhile, voiced his disappointment after being eliminated in 15th place, the Williams man having been left unhappy about his tyre struggles.

Franco Colapinto missed the cut for Q2, the Alpine driver exiting Q1 in P16, while Kick Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg had another tough qualifying down in P17.

It was also a challenging day for Haas, with Esteban Ocon and Ollie Bearman ending the session down in 18th and 19th places, while Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll brings up the rear in P20, having been unable to rejoin following contact with the barriers early in Q1.