Lando Norris believes he can challenge George Russell for victory in the Dutch GP Sprint after missing Sprint pole by only 0.041 seconds at Zandvoort during Qualifying, while McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri took encouragement from the progress he made throughout Friday.
The margins proved exceptionally tight during Sprint Qualifying. Norris initially went quickest in SQ3 with a 1:11.608 before Russell responded with a 1:11.567 to secure pole. Charles Leclerc claimed third for Ferrari, while Piastri completed the second row in fourth. Just 0.099s covered the leading four drivers.
McLaren had already shown its pace earlier in the session. Piastri topped SQ2 ahead of Norris before the switch from the medium to the soft tyre in SQ3 altered the picture at the front.
Norris left disappointed after missing pole by 0.041 seconds
Despite securing a front-row starting position for the Sprint, Norris admitted the tiny margin separating him from Russell made finishing second somewhat frustrating. With less than a tenth covering the top four, however, the McLaren driver recognised that such fine margins could easily have moved him further up or down the order during Sprint Qualifying in Zandvoort.
“Oh okay, still something. I think reasonably happy, still a good position. Yeah, it was a reasonable lap and considering how close it was, you know, easily could have been first, easily could have been fourth or fifth. So no, a good qualifying, close between all the teams, which is exactly what we expected. But yeah, just of course a little bit disappointing to be P2 instead of P1.”
Norris had led the way when he crossed the line in SQ3, only for Russell to beat his benchmark moments later. Leclerc and Piastri then underlined how competitive the session had become by finishing within a tenth of the Mercedes driver.
Norris believes more was available on the soft tyre
Norris remained pleased with the overall behaviour of the McLaren despite falling short of Sprint pole during the Qualifying session in Zandvoort. He pointed towards the transition from the medium compound used in the opening stages of Sprint Qualifying to the soft tyre required in SQ3 as an area where he could have extracted more performance.
“Yeah, pretty much. I think just the step onto the soft, there was probably a little bit more grip that I didn’t quite get out of it from the medium onto the soft for Q3. So I think maybe I could have just pushed it a little bit more, but I think otherwise the car’s been performing well and it looks like it’s continued its strong performance from Budapest. So plenty of positives and hopefully that just continues for the rest of the weekend. And there’s some things I can work on, some things we can maybe get out of the car for tomorrow’s qualifying. And yeah, but we started the weekend strong, so happy with that.”
McLaren therefore enters Saturday with Norris confident in the underlying pace of the car and still seeing opportunities to find more before Grand Prix qualifying.
Taking the fight to Russell in the Sprint
Starting alongside Russell gives Norris an immediate opportunity to fight for the lead, but Zandvoort’s narrow layout and limited overtaking opportunities could make track position particularly important.
Norris also highlighted another potential complication: starting from the right-hand side of the grid, rather than the more favourable left. Asked whether he could challenge Russell for the Sprint victory, Norris made his intention clear.
“That’s the plan. It’s not an easy track to overtake, and the inside of the grid is a lot worse than the left side of the grid. So we’ll see.”
With Leclerc and Piastri starting directly behind the front row, Norris will also have little margin for error if he wants to remain in the fight with Russell.
Piastri encouraged by progress after difficult practice
Piastri ended Sprint Qualifying fourth after showing particularly strong pace earlier in the session. The Australian topped SQ2, comfortably beating Norris during that phase, but like his teammate found the move to the soft tyre less straightforward in the final segment. Nevertheless, Piastri took encouragement from the changes McLaren made following practice and felt significantly more comfortable by Sprint Qualifying.
“A little bit, yeah. I think, yeah, just the soft lap wasn’t quite as good. And I feel like it’s often the case this year that you put the soft tyre on and it’s not quite as nice as the balance you have on the medium. But no, compared to where I was this morning in practice, much happier. We changed a few things and I was a lot happier. So yeah, I think that’s the positives, the progress from this morning. Yeah, obviously it was pretty close and I feel like with a better lap, maybe we could have had pole. But I’m learning and improving, so that’s the most important thing.”
Piastri ultimately finished only 0.044s behind Leclerc in third, leaving him firmly involved in the battle at the front despite missing out on a place in the top three.
Piastri expects tight Mercedes, Ferrari and McLaren fight
The closeness of the leading contenders left Piastri expecting the battle to remain finely balanced throughout the remainder of the Dutch GP weekend. Mercedes, McLaren and Ferrari all placed drivers inside the leading positions in Sprint Qualifying, while less than a tenth separated Russell, Norris, Leclerc and Piastri at the head of the order. For Piastri, maximising the smaller details could therefore decide who comes out on top.
“Yeah, definitely. I think it’s going to be tight between us, Ferrari and Mercedes, by the look of things. So yeah, it’s going to be all about filling in those last little details and gaps and seeing what we can do.”
