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Formula 1 Dutch GP

F1 Dutch GP Live Commentary and Updates - FP3 & Qualifying

Saturday's action from the 13th round of the 2023 Formula 1 season

F1 is back after its summer break, following a busy opening day at Zandvoort which saw Lando Norris top the times while Daniel Ricciardo suffered a broken hand in a crash which has ruled him out of the rest of the Dutch GP.

Ricciardo's injury has given Liam Lawson his F1 debut, stepping into the AlphaTauri from final practice.

Max Verstappen arrived at Zandvoort for his home event with a 125-point championship lead over Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez.

FP3 starts on Saturday at 10:30 BST followed by qualifying at 14:00 BST.

By: Haydn Cobb, Megan White, James Newbold

Stopped
Summary
  • Verstappen takes pole for F1 Dutch GP from Norris and Russell
  • Albon stars for Williams with fourth, ahead of Alonso, Sainz and Perez
  • Leclerc and Sargeant both crash in separate offs in Q3
  • Out in Q2: P11 Stroll, P12 Gasly, P13 Hamilton, P14 Tsunoda, P15 Hulkenberg
  • Out in Q1: P16 Zhou, P17 Ocon, P18 Magnussen, P19 Bottas, P20 Lawson
  • Sainz on Piastri, Stroll on Hamilton and Tsunoda on Hamilton, all for blocking, to be investigated after qualifying
  • Lawson drafted in as Ricciardo replacement after Australian suffered broken hand in FP2 crash
Leaderboard
  1. Verstappen, Red Bull
  2. Norris, McLaren
  3. Russell, Mercedes
  4. Albon, Williams
  5. Alonso, Aston Martin
  6. Sainz, Ferrari
  7. Perez, Red Bull
  8. Piastri, McLaren
  9. Leclerc, Ferrari
  10. Sargeant, Williams
We'll call it a day there on the Live blog, but we'll be back tomorrow to bring you all the action as it happens at Zandvoort. Thank you as always for joining us and we look forward to your company once more. Until next time!
Qualifying today had a little bit of everything, and sets us up nicely for what promises to be an entertaining grand prix tomorrow. Can Albon get in amongst the podium places? Can Hamilton recover to the points after falling in Q2? And how will Red Bull's latest rookie fare on his debut?
Here's the full report from qualifying as Max Verstappen gave his home fans the result they wanted after two red flags in Q3: https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/f1-dutch-gp-verstappen-enthrals-home-fans-with-pole-in-wild-qualifying-session/10511839/
Judging by the sky now, you'd never have guessed at how difficult the track conditions were earlier on. Its somehow remarkable that everybody kept it fairly clean when the circuit was oh-so slippery during Q1 and Q2 before bedlam in Q3 when there were fewer cars on track and the road was dry enough for slicks (although of course perhaps not absolutely everywhere).
Another question mark this evening will concern how much damage was done to the cars of Leclerc and Sargeant. The Williams looked just to be damaged in one corner, but it was a hefty side-on impact for the Ferrari which could have the potential to cause a few headaches.
Say what you will about the predictability of a Red Bull being fastest in qualifying, but who could have predicted a Williams outqualifying one of the all-conquering RB19s? A stunning effort from Albon to put him fourth, while Aston Martin's much-vaunted push for upgrades can only yield fifth for Alonso.
Alas its the third year in a row that Verstappen will start from pole at his home race. All odds point to him also making it a hattrick of wins, after at one stage it appeared McLaren could be on course for a 1-2.
Well that was a suitably exciting end to an action-packed session. Verstappen had showed his hand on the inters in Q2, and after switching to slicks had the same margin again plus one thousandth of a second.
Perez ends up seventh ahead of Piastri, as the red-faced Leclerc and Sargeant complete the top 10 after their accidents.
Remarkably, each of the top six will be driving different cars. Albon is fourth on a brilliant day for Williams, with Alonso fifth and Sainz sixth.
Norris was 0.537s down on the local hero, who blitzed sectors two and three after the McLaren man had gone purple in the first stanza.
Checkered flag
Verstappen pulls out all the stops and he's on pole! It's a 1m10.567s, beating Norris and Russell.
One minute to go. Now or never.
Leclerc is watching scenes unfold trackside from the comfort of a deckchair, instead of hot-footing it back to the paddock riding pillion on a scooter. Don't think he's got the right tabard though, to be fair.
Could a McLaren 1-2 really be on the cards? Here comes Verstappen, seeking to better his current P3, to cheers from the crowds.
Lights green
The clock is running again. Hopefully for the last time, we're back to green!
That was a strange old hit for Leclerc. Of all the hotspots you'd have expected him to see him go off, that wouldn't be in the top five to pick. I don't think I've ever seen anybody crash there before.
Qualifying will resume at 16:21 local time, we're informed.
Alonso and Sainz are currently ninth and tenth, having yet to better the early effort from Sargeant.
The clocks are stopped with four minutes to go. Albon didn't manage to set a time in that brief window of green flag running and has tumbled back to seventh, with Perez also ahead of him in sixth.
Crash
Its a hefty impact on the left-hand-side of the Ferrari as Leclerc simply understeers wide and smashes into the wall.
Red flag
Verstappen was third, then Norris and Leclerc. But the Ferrari driver won't get another shot because he's hit the wall on the exit of Turn 9 to bring out the red flags again.
Russell cuts three seconds out of Albon's earlier effort, but his effort is swiftly beaten by both McLarens. Norris is quickest from Piastri as things stand.
Albon remember leads the way from Sargeant, who will take no further part in the session, Sainz and Russell.
Lights green
We're back to green. Just over seven minutes on the clock to decide who will start on pole tomorrow.
Nine cars remain then to battle for pole. Sainz has been quick on the buzzer and trundled down to the end of the pitlane already.
Qualifying will resume at 16:11 local time, we're told by the FIA.
We've been informed that the extended delay is due to repairs to the barriers. Sargeant caught them with quite a thump.
We're still waiting for a time for the session to restart. But the crowds don't seem to mind as the relentless DJ continues his mission with another song whose name I've forgotten.
Another impeding incident, this time Hamilton against Tsunoda, will be investigated after the session.
Only four drivers had managed to set a time prior to the stoppage. They were Albon, Sargeant, Sainz and Russell. Albon has been in the top three in both prior sessions, but both of those were held in intermediate conditions. Can he remain at the sharp end in the dry?
The clock has been paused, so others will have an opportunity to beat his time. A disappointing way to end Sargeant's best day in F1 to date.