Formula 1 News: Piastri ‘steals Norris’ pole’ at Zandvoort

(GMM) Oscar Piastri (pictured) kept his cool at Zandvoort to snatch pole from McLaren teammate Lando Norris.

The Australian championship leader had been slightly behind Norris all weekend – but found the speed exactly when it mattered. “That was the definition of peaking at the right time,” Piastri smiled.

“I think the whole weekend I’ve felt pretty good, but it’s just been a couple of corners that I’ve not been able to go any faster.”

Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport summed it up bluntly: “Piastri steals Norris’ pole.

“The championship leader once again demonstrated how much he can be reckoned with when it matters.”

Spanish commentator Antonio Lobato believes Norris’ body language is once again showing signs of fragility. He noticed the Briton’s “somewhat depressed mood, which we’ve seen in him before,” and argued that Norris needs to be more aggressive.

“What you have to do is send a message to your teammate and rival, saying: ‘I’m going to attack on lap 1, on lap 3, on lap 5, on all of them. I’m going to give it my all to win this race,'” Lobato said.

“That’s a flaw I see in Lando Norris, and he needs to work on it, not just on track but off it too,” he said on DAZN.

Reigning world champion Max Verstappen will start P3, showing some progress from Hungary but conceding the title is already gone. “On used tires, we were on par with the McLaren in the long runs,” a hopeful Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko said.

“Maybe we can still pull off a surprise in the Grand Prix.” [Editor’s Note: Marko needs to take off his rose-colored glasses. The Rob Marshall-designed McLaren will bury the Pierre Wache-designed Red Bull.]

Meanwhile, organizers at Zandvoort admit demand was slightly harder to generate this year, but the Dutch GP – the second-to-last in the modern era – is again sold out.

“The demand for tickets remains high. It’s fantastic that we have a full house again,” said Dutch GP boss Jan Lammers.

“The success in the business segment is also exceptional, year after year. All business packages are sold out again this year. More than 15,000 people came to the circuit on Thursday for business meetings and activations of partners and event supporters.

“The fact that Saturday and Sunday are sold out again underscores our strength as both a sporting and business event.”

As for sell-out Sunday, the race looks set to be a simple intra-team duel. “First we need to finish first and second,” McLaren CEO Zak Brown said.

“The guys can battle it out among themselves to see who’s first and who’s second. Those are the team orders – go and race.”