{"id":43535,"date":"2026-08-23T10:21:34","date_gmt":"2026-08-23T08:21:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/?post_type=news&#038;p=43535"},"modified":"2026-08-23T10:21:34","modified_gmt":"2026-08-23T08:21:34","slug":"norris-claims-dutch-grand-prix-pole-as-mercedes-duo-split-mclarens","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/news\/norris-claims-dutch-grand-prix-pole-as-mercedes-duo-split-mclarens\/","title":{"rendered":"Norris claims Dutch Grand Prix pole as Mercedes duo split McLarens"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Norris topped the timesheets with a lap of 1:11.163, edging out Mercedes driver George Russell, who qualified second in 1:11.265. Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli completed the top three with a time of 1:11.296.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The session was decided in the closing moments as drivers battled worsening weather and the threat of rain around the coastal circuit.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Despite appearing the fastest driver for much of qualifying, McLaren driver Oscar Piastri had to settle for fourth place, just 0.142 seconds behind Norris.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton qualified fifth ahead of teammate Charles Leclerc in sixth.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Red Bull driver Max Verstappen could manage only seventh place at a circuit where Verstappen has traditionally enjoyed strong support and success, while teammate Liam Lawson qualified eighth and finished close behind Verstappen.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Sauber driver Gabriel Bortoleto and Red Bull junior Arvid Lindblad completed the top 10.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Just missing out on a place in Q3 was Alpine driver Pierre Gasly, who qualified 11th after falling short by less than a tenth of a second.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Racing Bulls driver Yuki Tsunoda took 12th on a return to the grid, ahead of Audi driver Nico Hulkenberg, Alpine driver Franco Colapinto, Haas driver Esteban Ocon and Williams driver Alex Albon.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>It was another disappointing session for Williams driver Carlos Sainz, who was eliminated in Q1 and will start 17th after missing progression by only 0.022 seconds.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Aston Martin drivers Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll also failed to advance, qualifying 18th and 19th respectively.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Haas driver Ollie Bearman endured a difficult session and qualified 20th, ahead only of Cadillac drivers Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez, who will start from the back of the grid.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Norris will now start Sunday&#8217;s race as favourite to convert pole position into victory, but Russell, Antonelli and Piastri remain within striking distance after one of the closest qualifying sessions of the season.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211;F1\/ChannelAfrica&#8211;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":43536,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"news-type":[20],"class_list":["post-43535","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-sport","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"McLaren driver Lando Norris secured pole position for the Dutch Grand Prix after producing a superb final lap in changing weather conditions at Zandvoort.","published_date":"","news_description":"","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":"McLaren driver Lando Norris secured pole position for the Dutch Grand Prix after producing a superb final lap in changing weather conditions at Zandvoort."},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/43535","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/43535\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":43537,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/43535\/revisions\/43537"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/43536"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43535"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=43535"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}