Verstappen back on pole for home Dutch Grand Prix

Verstappen takes home pole for second year in a row

Red Bull Racing's Dutch driver Max Verstappen (right) salutes the crowd. (AFP)

By Reuters

Published: Sat 3 Sep 2022, 9:36 PM

Red Bull's Max Verstappen fired up his fans by seizing pole position at his home Dutch Formula One Grand Prix for the second year in a row with a storming final effort on Saturday.

The runaway championship leader was joined on the front row by Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, after qualifying at Zandvoort ended with Verstappen's Mexican team mate Sergio Perez crashing at the final corner.

The yellow warning flags prevented seven-times world champion Lewis Hamilton making a last-gasp bid for pole in his Mercedes, and the Briton ended up in fourth place with Ferrari's Carlos Sainz in third.

The pole was Verstappen's fourth of the season and first since Austria in July, while the margin of 0.021 between the top two drivers made it the tightest qualifying battle of the season so far.

Verstappen will be chasing his 10th win of the season and fourth in a row on Sunday at a track where overtaking is not easy.

Leclerc, a massive 98 points behind Verstappen after 14 of 22 races, was fastest after the first flying laps of the third session, with Verstappen 0.059 slower and Hamilton third quickest.

The Ferrari driver went faster again with his second effort, a one minute 10.363, but Verstappen then put in a clinching 1:10.342 before Perez ended the session.