Verstappen takes “unbelievable” second consecutive Dutch GP pole

Max Verstappen delighted his home crowd by taking a second consecutive pole position at the Dutch Grand Prix.

The Dutchman’s championship hopes were further cemented after securing another pole position in 2022, while a dejected Charles Leclerc missed out to his title rival by just 0.021.

The first session remained relatively clean until, on his final flying lap, Sebastian Vettel went wide at the penultimate corner, dropping out in Q3 along with Valtteri Bottas, Kevin Magnussen, Daniel Ricciardo and Nicholas Latifi.

However, in the second session, loose flares thrown onto the track by fans brought out a red flag, while pigeons would take to the track while the cars sat in the garage.

Lance Stroll would impress the paddock by sneaking into Q3 but unfortunately would not take part in the session due to a technical issue. Meanwhile, both Alpine drivers, Zhou Guanyu, Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon would find themselves in the drop zone, taking no further part in Qualifying.

With pole position on the line, and both Ferrari and Red Bull leading a session each in Qualifying, a tense showdown was waiting to happen.

Leclerc would set the early pace with Verstappen hot on his heels. However, a fantastic middle sector for the Red Bull driver would see him take provisional pole while the Orange Army roared in celebration.

Then, at the final corner, Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez would spin, bringing out yellow flags and securing a 17th pole position for Verstappen in Formula 1.

Speaking after Qualifying, Verstappen said:

“Unbelievable! Especially after yesterday, as well, we had a difficult day. But I think we worked really well overnight with the whole team to turn it around and today we had a quick race car again.

“But it was very close. A lap around here is insane! We changed a lot because yesterday was a bit rushed in FP2 to get the car together but, yeah, today it was again enjoyable to drive.”

While Red Bull will be confident about the race tomorrow, Ferrari can also take positives in the fact they appear to be closer to their title rivals after being nowhere near the RB18 in Belgium.

The Dutch Grand Prix gets underway at 2pm BST.

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