2024 Dutch Grand Prix – Qualifying Report “It’s nice to be back starting the second half of the season with pole position"

Circuit Zandvoort, Saturday, 24 August

Hear from McLaren Formula 1 drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, as well as Team Principal Andrea Stella, after Qualifying for the Dutch Grand Prix.

Image
FP3 1m21.387s (+1.076s) 6 laps 4th
Q1 1m11.377s (Soft)   6th
Q2 1m10.496s (Soft)   1st
Q3 1m09.673s (Soft)   1st

“An impressive Saturday. It’s nice to be back starting the second half of the season with pole position. Qualifying was pretty smooth, with good laps, especially the last one. The conditions today made it a little more challenging and with every lap you had to reassess how much more you could push and where the limits were.

“I felt very comfortable today, the car was strong, and the team have done a great job so far, so a big thank you to them for their hard work. I'm sure Max will put up a good fight at his home race tomorrow, but I’m looking forward to it and will work hard overnight to prepare with the team.”

Image
FP3 1m21.850s (+1.539s) 10 laps 7th
Q1 1m11.541s (Soft)   7th
Q2 1m10.505s (Soft)   2nd
Q3 1m10.172s (Soft)   3rd

“The first half of the final lap was pretty solid, and then the second half wasn’t quite what I needed. The car has been very quick all weekend and I’m a little disappointed to not be on the front row. I’ve got a very good race car underneath me though. The pace did look good in the long runs and we’ve been pretty quick the last few weekends so, hopefully we can have a good day tomorrow, get a good start and try to make up a couple of spots.”

background image

McLAREN x New Era Caps

Andrea Stella

“A strong Qualifying session at Zandvoort with Lando and Oscar putting together competitive laps in every Quali session. The car has been performing well in the many different conditions we’ve faced this weekend. It’s well-suited to the characteristics of these kinds of tracks, like Barcelona and Hungary, but we also see the upgrades we’ve brought this weekend helped to deliver a strong performance – so a big thank you to everyone at the factory who has contributed to that effort to design, produce and deliver these. We’re now fully focused on preparation for the Dutch Grand Prix.”