ZANDVOORT, The Netherlands –
Max Verstappen put in a brilliant final lap to take pole position for Sunday’s Dutch Grand Prix, just ahead of Charles Leclerc.
The Red Bull driver edged out Leclerc’s Ferrari by just 0.021 seconds on Saturday, amid great roars from Verstappen’s orange army of fans.
But the session was interrupted earlier when a flare was thrown onto the track. The FIA governing body said the culprit had been removed from the stands by security.
“It’s just very silly to do it. I mean, holding flares is nice, but there’s a limit to how much. But throwing it on the track is just stupid,” said Verstappen. “Just don’t do that, it’s no use to anyone. You’re kicked out so you can’t see the race and for us the session is canceled because it’s dangerous when things are on the track.”
Widespread use of flares by Verstappen fans has raised concern at some races, notably Austria’s Red Bull Ring in July and last weekend’s Belgian GP – both packed with Verstappen supporters.
Leclerc and his Ferrari teammate Carlos Sainz Jr. also condemned throwing flares on track.
“It’s dangerous, so don’t do things like that. It’s good that there was a reaction (from) the security people,” said Leclerc. “Obviously if a car drives by at that point it can create unnecessary risks, so hopefully it won’t happen again.”
Sainz, who qualified third, said there should be better control over when flares are used.
“It’s also important to let fans know when it’s possible to use the flares and when not. It was good that they used it in the in-lap when Max took pole, but not in the middle of the race or on lap 1 when we’re in the middle of a fight,” said Sainz. “At 300 km/h ( 186 mph) you don’t want to be distracted by smoke with these cars. Hopefully the organization can do a good job of warning when it’s time to use them and when not.”
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton was fourth, with Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Perez qualifying fifth.
Leclerc had the lead and went even faster in his final run to put Verstappen under pressure. But a brilliant middle sector helped the Dutchman to his fourth pole of the season.
“It was a special qualifying session, especially after the tough day yesterday.” said Verstappen. “We had to change cars.”
Just after Verstappen crossed the finish line, Perez spun off the track to bring a yellow flag for the final seconds.
A jubilant Verstappen was fairly easily lifted into the air by Dutch kickboxer Rico Verhoeven as the orange hordes here cheered Verstappen’s second straight pole.
“Yes, I enjoy it,” said Verstappen. “It’s just great to see the atmosphere, everyone’s having fun, having fun.”
Verstappen was fastest in the first qualifying run, known as Q1, just ahead of Hamilton.
Four-time F1 champion Sebastian Vettel (Aston Martin) and Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren) were among the five eliminated drivers. Vettel was looking good for Q2 but went wide into the gravel trap towards the end of his final run.
“There was dust on the track that I picked up with my left side,” said Vettel. “There isn’t much I could have done differently.”
The red flag was raised at the start of the second qualifying session after the flare was thrown and the session was suspended for a few minutes. But Alex Albon, the only driver at the track at the time, also complained about “tons of pigeons” around the circuit next to the beach.
Sainz led Q2 in George Russell’s competitive Mercedes, but two-time F1 champion Fernando Alonso blew his final run and retired.
Russell will start from sixth on the grid ahead of Lando Norris (McLaren) and Mick Schumacher (Haas).
Verstappen won here in front of Dutch King Willem-Alexander and his legions of orange-clad fans at the coastal circuit outside of Amsterdam last year.
Leclerc led Saturday’s third and final practice session by just 0.066s over Russell and 0.161s ahead of Verstappen.
Leclerc hopes Ferrari can get “close” to Verstappen in Sunday’s race, while Sainz believes Mercedes “will be as quick” as Ferrari.
After struggling at the long Spa circuit in Belgium, Mercedes looked far more comfortable on the steep circuit at Zandvoort, where a gearbox failure limited Verstappen to seven laps in Friday’s first practice session. In the second run he finished eighth.
Sunday’s victory would be a fourth in a row for Verstappen and tenth of the season – his tally from last year – and would bring him closer to a second straight world title.
He leads Perez on 93 points and Leclerc on 98 points, with the Italian GP coming up next at Monza and just six races later.