Max Verstappen third in qualifying in Zandvoort: 'Very happy with P3 here'

Published on 30 August 2025 by Florence Cobben

Max Verstappen has qualified third for the Dutch Grand Prix on Zandvoort. In front of a packed crowd of supporters, Max put in a strong performance for his home circuit. All weekend the McLarens have been dominating the timesheets and today was no exception, with pole for Oscar Piastri with teammate Lando Norris right behind. Verstappen was the only one in their rearview mirrors, with an excellent final lap that put him just 0.263 seconds from pole.

In the aftermath of qualifying, Max gave his thoughts to the cheering crowds: “This weekend so far was quite tricky for us, but qualifying was basically the best I’ve felt all weekend. To be P3 here, I’m very happy with that. The energy of the crowd has been amazing. To see so much orange on the grandstands is always very special.”

Despite the encouragement radiating from the grandstands, Max remains realistic about his chances in the race: “Let’s see what we can do. The McLarens have been very fast all weekend. It’s important to focus on our own race, see what we can do, but this has been a good step forward. I hope we can also keep that up going into the race tomorrow.”

It’s characteristically windy on Circuit Zandvoort at the start of the qualifying session for the Dutch Grand Prix, but the sun shines pleasantly for the people packed into the tribunes. Just as Max appears on track, Lance Stroll hits the grass when entering turn thirteen and spins into a gravel trap. The Canadian hits the tyre stacks, but manages to commandeer his car back to the pits, albeit with a damaged front wing. No red flag is waved, and Max commences his first flying lap. The Dutchman comes over the line having set a 1:09.754, which is good for P1. Moments later, both McLarens improve on Max’s time, demoting him to P3.

Moments later the second run of flying laps commences. Max delivers a 1:09.696 time, ultimatley putting him in P4 and safely through to Q2. Eliminated after the first round of qualifying are: Franco Colapinto (P16), Nico Hulkenberg (P17), Esteban Ocon (P18), Oliver Bearman (19) and Lance Stroll, whose Aston Martin was too damaged in his crash for him to return to the field.

At the start of Q2, both Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton in the Ferraris head out quickly to set another fast lap. The remaining drivers wait patiently. With just ten minutes left on the clock, all the drivers head out of the pits. Max clocks a 1:09.122 time in his first fast lap, putting him again on P1. Again, the McLarens improve on his time.

The other drivers head out at the end of the session to set a second flying lap. Max is an exception – nobody manages to set a better lap than him, and with third place, he’s through to Q3. The losers of the second portion of qualifying are: Kimi Antonelli (P11), Yuki Tsunoda (P12), Gabriel Bortoleto (P13), Pierre Gasly (P14) and Alexander Albon (P15).

While Norris has been the consistently fastest driver on track this week, Piastri is the fastest in the first flying lap of Q3. Norris is just twelve-thousandths of a second slower than his McLaren-teammate and ends up in P2. Max Verstappen sets a 1:09.048 lap time and bides his time in P3, about four-tenths distance to the McLarens.

In the last flying lap, despite their best efforts to improve on their times, the  McLarens come up short. Verstappen does go faster, setting a powerful lap. With a 1:09.925 time, the Dutchman stays in third, just 0.263 seconds from polesitter Piastri. In their rear view mirrors are Isack Hadjar in an impressive fourth place, George Russell in fifth, and both Ferraris. Liam Lawson comes over the line in eighth, while Carlos Sainz and Fernando Alonso complete the top ten.

The Dutch Grand Prix will kick off tomorrow at 15.00.

Contest Dutch GP: win a by Max Verstappen signed Red Bull Racing 2025 cap!

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