Piastri Pips Title Rival Norris To Dutch Gp Pole

Dutch Grand Prix

Venue: Zandvoort Dates: 29-31 August Race start: 14:00 BST connected Sunday

Coverage: Live commentary connected BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra; unrecorded matter updates connected BBC Sport website and app

Oscar Piastri pipped McLaren team-mate Lando Norris to rod position astatine nan Dutch Grand Prix.

Piastri turned nan tables connected Norris, who had appeared nan quicker McLaren driver each weekend, by 0.012 seconds arsenic their title conflict continues to beryllium intensely close.

Piastri leads Norris by 9 points successful nan title pinch 10 races remaining.

Both times were group connected their first laps successful last qualifying astatine Zandvoort. Norris was really quicker than Piastri by 0.004secs connected their last runs, but neither driver improved connected their first attempt.

Red Bull's Max Verstappen took third, 0.263secs slower than Piastri, while Racing Bulls' Isack Hadjar put successful nan champion capacity truthful acold of his awesome rookie play to suffice fourth.

Mercedes' George Russell took fifth, up of nan Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton. Leclerc had trailed Hamilton beautiful overmuch each play but hit nan seven-time champion by 0.05secs erstwhile it mattered.

Piastri said: "That's nan meaning of peaking astatine nan correct time. There person conscionable been a mates of corners wherever I person not been capable to spell faster, I still didn't do that but I recovered immoderate clip successful different places."

Norris said: "It's close. It's been adjacent nan full play truthful easy could spell 1 measurement aliases nan other. A small spot disappointing to not beryllium connected rod but not nan extremity of nan world either."

Behind nan Ferraris, Racing Bulls' Liam Lawson took eighth, up of nan Williams of Carlos Sainz and Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso.

The committedness Alonso showed successful believe connected Friday, erstwhile he divided nan McLarens faded, arsenic it was ever apt to. But he would person been seventh up of Hamilton had he managed to repetition nan fastest thigh he managed successful nan 2nd session.

The Spaniard's team-mate Lance Stroll collapsed connected his very first thigh of qualifying aft putting his right-hand wheels connected to nan writer approaching nan last area and starts last.

More to follow