Charles Leclerc’s pole position in Budapest is now just a distant memory. In the Netherlands, McLaren once again dictated the pace, with Oscar Piastri narrowly beating Lando Norris on one of the Englishman’s favourite tracks. Ferrari, on the other hand, were left licking their wounds, with Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton taking opposite approaches as they tried to go beyond the limits of a car lacking the sharpness shown in Hungary. Red Bull, meanwhile, looked much stronger, boosting the podium ambitions of home hero Max Verstappen.
McLaren claims pole
In the Netherlands, the world championship contenders immediately made their intentions clear, taking pole position and proving that missing out in Budapest was just an isolated case. In Hungary, the papaya team had failed to lock out the front row only because of a sudden rise in wind during Q3 – an issue that also reappeared at Zandvoort, where drivers complained about the strong gusts blowing in from the North Sea. This time, however, conditions were far more consistent and predictable, and the McLaren drivers were not caught off guard.
“The wind was intense and gusty. Overall the environmental conditions were challenging, but relatively similar from one session to the next,” explained Andrea Stella. “Once the drivers understood and adapted to the wind direction, they were able to maximise the car.” The performances of Piastri and Norris, separated by just 12 and 5 thousandths in their two Q3 runs, showed that both had reached the absolute limit of the car without being affected by the wind. The Team Principal highlighted how the closeness between the two drivers is a huge added value, always giving the team useful references during setup and contributing to McLaren’s superiority. “Having two competitive drivers makes the car and the whole team stronger, because they can learn from each other.”
McLaren thus forcefully grabbed pole position on a track where the medium-speed corners perfectly suit the MCL39. For now, the celebrations go to Piastri, who managed to outpace his teammate on one of Norris’s preferred circuits. Keeping that track position at the start will be crucial, as it would force Norris to once again play the card of an alternative strategy – a choice that will, however, have to respect the new internal rules agreed after Budapest.
Ferrari falls back
For Ferrari it was immediately clear that repeating the pole of Hungary would be impossible. Leclerc finished sixth, more than six tenths from pole, criticising himself for what he described as a disappointing lap. In reality, though, Ferrari simply lacked pace at Zandvoort, and this weakness was not linked to the issues experienced during the race in Budapest. “It had nothing to do with those. Today it was mainly down to the characteristics of the corners,” Leclerc explained.
The Dutch circuit fully exposed the weak points of the SF-25, especially in the long medium-speed turns 9 and 10, where the lack of downforce and stability compared to McLaren was clear. Both Ferrari drivers recognised the difficulties as early as Friday, and reacted with completely different approaches. Leclerc opted for a drastic setup change, “one of the biggest of the season from one day to the next.” It was almost a forced choice, given the deficit from the start of the weekend, but it complicated the preparation work for the Monegasque.
Hamilton, by contrast, despite starting from a similar setup to his teammate, avoided any radical changes. He only applied small tweaks to his SF-25, including switching to a higher-downforce rear wing, working from a stable base that helped him build confidence – something vital for a driver still struggling to find harmony with the car. “He went in a different direction this morning and I stayed where I was. I think it was the right decision. I’ve tried many times this year to follow him, but it was never positive for me.” The result was Lewis returning to Q3, just half a tenth behind Leclerc, a consequence of a different approach to the weekend that allowed him to start on the right foot. Unfortunately for him, this time it was the car that was lacking.
Max is back
For Verstappen, the opportunity arose to secure a podium at home, something that seemed difficult to expect beforehand on a track where slow corners expose the RB21’s weaknesses – especially after what happened in Budapest. In Hungary, Red Bull had failed to bring the tyres into the correct operating window, a problem carefully investigated during the summer break to avoid repeating it. Super Max even had the luxury of leaving the pits last in Q3, limited by traffic in his freedom to warm up the tyres, but benefiting from maximum track evolution. Third place on the grid sets up the perfect scenario for a podium, especially considering the good race pace shown in practice and the extra set of soft tyres saved during qualifying.
Alongside him will start another Red Bull family car, the Racing Bulls of the impressive Isack Hadjar, supported by Liam Lawson’s eighth place. The Faenza-built machine, designed to be accessible for new talents, is well known for its drivability – a precious asset on a technical track like Zandvoort, made even trickier by the wind. Among those who fell victim to the gusts was Mercedes, with George Russell disappointed not to achieve a better result: “If you manage to put a lap together, you can easily find four tenths. It’s so windy that you end up sliding and overheating the tyres, triggering a vicious cycle. Unfortunately, it happened to me on both Q3 runs, but it could easily have gone the other way.”
The fight for points
Disappointments were not lacking on the edge of the top 10 either. At first glance, Carlos Sainz’s ninth place might seem like a good result for Williams, but frustration was clear from both drivers. After showing good pace in the final practice session, the British team struggled once track temperatures rose by more than 10°C compared to the morning, sending the tyres completely out of their working range. Aston Martin also failed to deliver in qualifying, despite raising hopes with a strong Friday performance.
Fernando Alonso, tenth on the grid, will start ahead of Andrea Kimi Antonelli. The Italian was eliminated in Q2 by just 19 thousandths, missing out by little more than a tenth compared to Russell. Antonelli paid the price for a mistake made on Friday that cost him an entire practice session, forcing him to carry out his race simulations on Saturday morning and leaving him with many unknowns heading into qualifying. “With FP1 it would have been a very different weekend,” admitted the Italian. Recovering positions in the race will be difficult on a track notoriously tough for overtaking. However, with unpredictable weather and strategies likely to be on the edge of two stops, there will still be variables to play with, offering chasing drivers faint hopes of recovery – including Norris in his title duel with Piastri.
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