Verstappen equals the Zandvoort pole record, Williams reach Q3 with both cars for the first time in six years and Lawson makes his qualifying debut. Here are the facts and statistics from qualifying at the 2023 Dutch Grand Prix!
VERSTAPPEN TAKES HOME POLE AT 2023 DUTCH GRAND PRIX
For the third year in a row, Max Verstappen took pole position at his home event. With pole at the 2023 Dutch Grand Prix, Verstappen equalled Rene Arnoux as the driver to have taken the most poles at Zandvoort as well as the first driver to take three successive pole positions at the track.
This was the 28th pole position of Verstappen’s career, putting him one short of equalling Juan Manuel Fangio for ninth in Formula 1’s all-time pole position list.
IN THE TOP TEN
Lando Norris qualified on the front row for the second time this year. He equalled his best qualifying result of the season, having also set the second fastest time at the 2023 British Grand Prix.
Setting the fifth fastest time, Fernando Alonso will line up fifth on the 2023 Dutch Grand Prix grid. That sees him equal Kimi Raikkonen as the driver to have started fifth on the most occasions in F1. This will be Alonso’s 39th start from fifth on the grid.
Alonso qualified in the top five for the first time since the Canadian Grand Prix.
With both Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz qualifying in the top ten, Ferrari are the only team to have reached Q3 with both cars at the Dutch Grand Prix in 2021, 2022 and 2023.
Qualifying only ninth after a crash in Q3, Leclerc qualified outside of the top six positions for the first time since the 2023 Canadian Grand Prix. It’s also the first time since then that he has been out-qualified by Sainz.
Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri both qualified in the top ten, making this the first time since the four races between the 2020 Russian and Emilia Romagna Grands Prix that McLaren reached Q3 at four races in a row.
BOTH WILLIAMS IN Q3 FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE 2017
After both of their cars made it through to Q2 for the third time this season, both Williams drivers reached Q3 at the 2023 Dutch Grand Prix. It marked the first time since the 2017 Italian Grand Prix that both Williams drivers reached Q3.
Alex Albon topped the timesheet in Q1, marking the first time that Williams were fastest in that session since the 2016 Belgian Grand Prix.
Albon qualified fourth, marking his best qualifying result since qualifying fourth with Red Bull at the 2020 Bahrain Grand Prix.
Logan Sargeant recorded the first Q3 appearance of his Formula 1 career and the first ever Q3 appearance for an American driver. The last time an American qualified in the top ten was at the 1993 Italian Grand Prix, when Michael Andretti qualified ninth on his final F1 appearance.
OUT IN Q2
Lewis Hamilton lost his 100% Q3 rate at the Dutch Grand Prix, qualifying only 13th for Mercedes. It means that Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz are now the only drivers to reach Q3 at every Dutch Grand Prix since the event’s return in 2021.
Hamilton equalled his worst qualifying result of the 2023 season, having also qualified 13th at the 2023 Miami Grand Prix.
Prior to the 2023 Dutch Grand Prix weekend, no driver had recorded multiple Q2 exits at Zandvoort. Pierre Gasly, Lance Stroll and Yuki Tsunoda became the first drivers to do so.
With Pierre Gasly out in Q2 and Esteban Ocon out in Q1, this is the second consecutive season in which neither Alpine driver has reached Q3 at the Dutch Grand Prix.
OUT IN Q1
Esteban Ocon recorded his worst qualifying result of the season to date with 17th place. It was his first Q1 exit of the year and the fourth Q1 elimination for Alpine in 2023. Ocon was last eliminated in Q1 at the 2022 United States Grand Prix.
Ocon has failed to reach Q3 at any of the last five races. It is his longest streak without a Q3 appearance since the five races between the 2021 Monaco and Austrian Grands Prix.
Valtteri Bottas and Kevin Magnussen both recorded their second Q1 exits at the Dutch Grand Prix. They join Sebastian Vettel as the drivers with the most Q1 eliminations at Zandvoort.
With 18th place, Magnussen recorded the same qualifying result at the 2023 Dutch Grand Prix as he did in 2022.
Alfa Romeo became the first team to record a double Q1 exit at the Dutch Grand Prix since Haas in 2021. They are the only two teams to have recorded at least one Q1 exit at the Dutch Grand Prix in 2021, 2022 and 2023.
Valtteri Bottas qualified 19th, recording his second back row qualification of the season. He also qualified 19th at the 2023 Australian Grand Prix.
Liam Lawson made his debut Formula 1 qualifying appearance, replacing the injured Daniel Ricciardo. He set the slowest qualifying lap time, qualifying 20th.
