Piastri takes pole at the Dutch GP

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La Jornada Newspaper, Sunday, August 31, 2025, p. a11

Zandvoort. After three months without a pole , Oscar Piastri took pole position for the Formula One Dutch Grand Prix. The Australian driver found a new rhythm to edge out his McLaren teammate Lando Norris in qualifying yesterday by just over one-hundredth of a second.

Piastri set the pace at the start of the final part of qualifying for the race and Norris was unable to match him, falling 0.012 seconds off the pace as the title battle between the two McLaren teammates intensifies.

It was the Australian's fifth pole of the year, but his first since the Spanish Grand Prix, six races ago.

Norris, who won the Dutch Grand Prix last year and was fastest in all three practice sessions this week, said starting second was “not the end of the world,” and suggested small changes in the wind could have decided the outcome.

Piastri has nine points more than Norris in the drivers' standings with 10 races remaining in the season. Norris has closed the gap in recent months with wins in three of the last four races.

Defending champion Max Verstappen is set to start third at his home race. And although he's third in the standings, the 97-point gap to Piastri means his title chances are slim.

Isack Hadjar was a surprise fourth for Racing Bulls, the best qualifying result of his career for the French rookie, who is considered a candidate for a promotion to Red Bull next season as Verstappen's teammate.

George Russell is fifth for Mercedes, while Charles Leclerc will start sixth again, having qualified ahead of his Ferrari teammate Lewis Hamilton, who was seventh.

Yuki Tsunoda, who is filling the seat vacated by Sergio Perez, finished 12th, a result that does nothing to help his efforts to prove he can stay at Red Bull for next season.