Norris grabs Dutch Grand Prix pole ahead of Russell as rain threat looms

Lando Norris secured pole position for the Dutch Grand Prix, beating Mercedes driver George Russell by just 0.102 seconds in a qualifying session dominated by the threat of rain. Teams rushed to complete their fastest laps before an anticipated shower, but in the end only a few drops fell and track conditions were barely affected.

Championship leader Kimi Antonelli briefly topped the times on his final lap before being overtaken by both Norris and Russell. He ultimately finished third, 0.031 seconds behind Russell and 0.009 seconds ahead of the second McLaren of Oscar Piastri.

Antonelli said a mistake at Turn One on his last lap, where he eased off due to the rain threat, cost him around 0.2 seconds, leaving him 0.133 seconds off pole.

Ferraris lock out third row

The two Ferraris filled the third row of the grid, with Lewis Hamilton, who left his lap until late in the session and benefited from improving track conditions, edging team-mate Charles Leclerc by 0.064 seconds.

Red Bull's Max Verstappen, competing in what will be his final home grand prix before the Dutch race drops off the calendar, qualified seventh. His temporary team-mate Liam Lawson, standing in for Isack Hadjar after the Frenchman broke his wrist ahead of the race, was just 0.0115 seconds slower than Verstappen to take eighth.

Norris said afterwards that his lap had not felt perfect and that he had made more mistakes than usual, but felt he gained more than he lost overall. Meanwhile, Fernando Alonso, whose Aston Martin team had hoped for gains from an upgraded Honda engine, complained his final lap was messy and slipped to 18th place.