During the qualifying session for the 2026 Dutch Grand Prix, Oscar Piastri secured fourth position for McLaren. The result places him on the second row of the grid for Sunday’s race at Circuit Zandvoort, continuing a competitive showing for the team.
His teammate Lando Norris claimed pole position with a time of 1:11.163s. Norris finished ahead of the Mercedes duo of George Russell and Kimi Antonelli, who qualified second and third respectively, in a session threatened by late rain.
Piastri’s performance was solid throughout the qualifying hour. He topped the timesheets in Q1 and was narrowly behind Norris in Q2, demonstrating the car’s single-lap pace. His final Q3 time was a 1:11.305s, just 0.142s behind his pole-sitting teammate.
Despite the strong grid position, Piastri expressed some surprise at not being closer to the front row after feeling more confident with the car’s handling this weekend. He noted an improvement in his comfort and rhythm with the car compared to previous events.
‘Overall I was pretty happy with it. A little bit surprised to not be a bit closer if I’m honest. But that’s how it goes sometimes. I think this weekend in general I’ve been a lot happier with what the car’s been doing.’
McLaren Team Principal Andrea Stella commented that Piastri is driving very well, with the small time gap to Norris coming down to just a couple of corners. The team made set-up changes after the earlier Sprint race to improve performance.
The team’s focus now shifts to converting their qualifying pace into a strong race result. McLaren experienced higher tyre degradation during the Sprint, a factor they worked to address ahead of qualifying. Stella stated the team enters the race aiming for a double podium.
The top ten for the Dutch Grand Prix is completed by Lewis Hamilton in fifth for Ferrari, followed by his teammate Charles Leclerc in sixth. Max Verstappen will start his home race from seventh, with Liam Lawson alongside him in the second Red Bull.
Gabriel Bortoleto qualified ninth for Audi, and Arvid Lindblad rounded out the top ten for Racing Bulls.
