F1 LIVE: Max Verstappen targets win in home race as Lewis Hamilton starts fourth at Dutch Grand Prix
Max Verstappen delivered the goods in front of 105,000 orange-clad fans by putting his Red Bull on pole position for the Dutch Grand Prix. Verstappen’s preparations for qualifying were dealt a blow when he missed a large chunk of practice on Friday following a gearbox failure.
But the world champion came up with a lap when it mattered most to see off Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc by just 0.021 seconds and claim the 17th pole of his career on his seemingly unstoppable march towards the championship.
Carlos Sainz took third, one place ahead of Lewis Hamilton, while Verstappen’s Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez, who spun in the closing stages, finished fifth. George Russell was sixth. Verstappen headed into qualifying having failed to top any of the three practice sessions in Zandvoort, the coastal town 25 miles west of Amsterdam.
But the championship leader, 93 points clear of Perez and 98 points ahead of Leclerc in the standings, took pole with his final throw of the dice to the delight of his home crowd. Hamilton’s Mercedes team are in much better shape than a week ago in Belgium with the short, twisty Zandvoort track better suited to their machinery.
The race starts at 2pm (BST).
