It's a McLaren front row lockout for the Italian Grand Prix, with Lando Norris taking pole and Oscar Piastri in P2.

In a day which started with the announcement of Andrea Kimi Antonelli as the second Mercedes driver for the 2025 season and beyond, finished with another pole position for Lando Norris. He is closely followed behind by Oscar Piastri, George Russell and Charles Leclerc rounds out the top four.

Red Bull suffered with a terrible qualifying session with Max Verstappen qualifying in P7 and Sergio Perez in P8 - will this be the weekend McLaren overtake Red Bull in the Constructors Championships?

Top 10 Results
1) Lewis Hamilton         1:20.117
2) George Russell         +0.093
3) Charles Leclerc         +0.109
4) Oscar Piastri              +0.135
5) Lando Norris              +0.145
6) Max Verstappen         +0.251
7) Carlos Sainz              +0.346
8) Alex Albon                  +0.479
9) Franco Colapinto       +0.788
10) Nico Hulkenberg      +0.826

It was a Mercedes lock out in Free Practice Three with Lewis Hamilton taking the top spot followed by his teammate.

Several drivers opted for hard tyre runs after RB was the only team to do hard tyre runs in the previous two practice sessions. Track evolution was big during the session with early lap times tumbling and Charles Leclerc topped the leaderboard.

Leclerc, Piastri and Riccardo were all noted for impeding.

Out In Q1
16) Yuki Tsunoda
17) Lance Stroll
18) Franco Colapinto
19) Valtteri Bottas
20) Zhou Guanyu

Norris set the pace early in Q1 topping the leaderboard going over a tenth clear of Leclerc with Sainz in third. Perez was the biggest driver risk sitting in P19 leading up to the end of the session, but pitted for a fresh set of new tyres and went back out onto the track getting himself into P9.

Piastri was noted for an unsafe release on Verstappen and got fined 10,000 EUR. Colapinto managed P18 in his first qualifying session in F1.

Out in Q2
11) Fernando Alonso
12) Daniel Riccardo
13) Kevin Magnussen
14) Pierre Gasly
15) Esteban Ocon

Hamilton lead the way in Q2, after a slight delay due to gravel on the track. Sainz was the first on track in the session.

Norris topped the leaderboard ahead of Piastri by eight hundredths of a lap, with Verstappen in third place.

​Alonso was the car in danger in P11 but he missed Q3 by one hundredth of a second.

Starting Top 10
1) Lando Norris       1:19.237
2) Oscar Piastri 
3) George Russell
4) Charles Leclerc
5) Carlos Sainz
6) Lewis Hamilton
7) Max Verstappen
8) Sergio Perez
9) Alex Albon
10) Nico Hulkenberg

Albon was first out on track with tows being made by teammates. Norris took provisional pole with a 1:19.401 with Piastri just 0.035 behind him in the early stages.

Verstappen found himself behind Perez for his flying lap but suffered a big snap, Perez also went wide.

Another pole, which is amazing," said pole-sitter Norris. "Like Oscar said, to have the cars first and second when the field has been as tight as it has all weekend, it’s a little bit of a surprise, but a nice one. A big well done to the team as they’ve done an amazing job.
"Honestly, my lap… It hurts me to say, it was not a great lap. My Q1 run one was, but run two [there] was a little bit more and we’re still good enough for pole. So, a little bit surprised again, but very, very happy."

Anny Wooldridge
Writer at F1 Journal

Friday was Franco Colapinto made his F1 debut for Williams while Andrea Kimi Antonelli undertook his first Free Practice session in George's Mercedes, a great opportunity for both drivers.

Both sessions were stopped briefly with red flags after Antonelli and Hulkenberg both crash out during sessions which saw Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton top the timesheets. 

Top 10 Results
1) Max Verstappen     1:21.676
2) Charles Leclerc       +0.228 
3) Lando Norris            +0.241
4) Carlos Sainz            +0.450
5) Valtteri Bottas          +0.451
6) Oscar Piastri            +0.523
7) Lewis Hamilton        +0.538
8) Alex Albon                +0.544
9) Sergio Perez            +0.635
10) Fernando Alonso    +0.639

Free Practice One saw Andrea Kimi Antonelli carry out the session in the Mercedes and in his first timed lap he went P1 on the board. But his luck didn't last as Antonelli crashed into the barriers at Parabolica 10 minutes into the session, after he had a snap halfway through the corner.

After the session was resumed Valtteri Bottas was a surprise fastest lap sitter, with Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen also topping the timesheets.

Top 10 Results
1) Lewis Hamilton      1:20.738
2) Lando Norris          +0.003
3) Carlos Sainz          +0.103
4) Oscar Piastri          +0.120
5) Charles Leclerc     +0.154
6) George Russell     +0.348
7) Nico Hulkenberg   +0.402
8) Daniel Riccardo    +0.562
9) Fernando Alonso   +0.578
10) Lance Stroll         +0.625

Lewis Hamilton topped the timesheet for Free Practice Two ahead of Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz in a very tight top five separated by just a tenth and a half of each other.

George was forced to wait to go out on track until his car was fixed from Antonelli's car in FP1.

The red flags were thrown as the session reached its halfway point after Magnussen crashed into the barriers at the second Lesmo, adding to the Haas driver’s woes following a fine for the team due to impeding in FP1. 

Anny Wooldridge
​Writer at F1 Journal

Formula One is back for the second weekend in a row and this time its the famous high speed circuit of Monza in Italy.

In a weekend which could see Lewis Hamilton achieve over 100,000km raced in Formula 1 it's bound to throw up some surprises.

The first of which was the decision made by Williams to replace Logan Sargeant with Franco Colapinto, who will make his debut for the team at Monza to become the first Argentine driver to race in F1 since Gaston Mazzacane at the 2001 San Marino Grand Prix.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli will take George's Mercedes out for a drive in Free Practice One.

Anny Wooldridge
Writer at F1 Journal

Argentina will have a Formula 1 racing driver again as Franco Colapinto will race for Williams, for the remainder of the 2024 season, as Logan Sargeant has been dropped - as announced by the team on Tuesday evening.

After rumours had grown of Williams Team Principal James Vowles growing impatient with Sargeant's performance, after his crash in Free Practice 3 at the Dutch Grand Prix, on Saturday morning caused huge amounts of damage to upgrades brought and caused a significant repair.

There was a rumour in the paddock according to Craig Slater from Sky Sports that Mick Schumacher would have been the most likely of replacements for Sargeant.

However, instead Williams have recruited from within and have gone for current Formula 2 driver Franco Colapinto, who is part of their driver academy. Colapinto will become the first Formula 1 racing driver from Argentina since Gaston Mazzacane, who drove for Prost and Minardi between 2000 and 2001. 

It was announced by Williams and Formula 1 on social media on Monday evening.

Williams also put a story up on their website, which opened by saying: "Williams Racing announces that Franco Colapinto will race with the team for the remainder of the 2024 FIA Formula 1 World Championship season and will compete from the Italian Grand Prix alongside Alex Albon. He will use the race number #43."

Outgoing in this change of driver is Logan Sargeant, who has not had the most straight forward of seasons that most drivers would have liked. He came into Williams to partner Alex Albon for 2023, after graduating from Formula 2 at the end of the 2022 season. Sargeant would replace Canadian Nicolas Latifi.

Like Sargeant, Latifi had got into Formula 1 and joined the main team through the Williams Academy but after failing to impress, Sargeant was drafted in to become the first Formula 1 driver from the United States of America since Alexander Rossi, who is now in Indyacr.

In his debut season, Sargeant had a year of learning and struggled with qualifying in comparison to his more experienced teammate Alex Albon. However, he would create American motorsport history, by becoming the first American driver to score a Formula 1 World Championship point since Mario Andretti 30 years prior to Sargeant's only points score in the United States Grand Prix at Austin, Texas.

On his exit, Williams posted this message on X: "We’d like to thank Logan for everything he has done the past two seasons. He will remain a member of the Williams family and we will be supporting him to continue his racing career."

Williams Team Principal James Vowles said: "This is undoubtedly incredibly tough on Logan, who has given his all."

Logan Sargeant leaves his seat at Williams after 36 Grand Prix starts and just one world championship point.

As Logan Sargeant departs, Williams replace him with another driver who will fill the void for the remaining nine rounds of the season. However, it is not Mick Schumacher or Liam Lawson, two names who had previously linked with replacing Sargeant. Instead, Williams have opted to promote one from within to the role.

For the remaining nine rounds of the season, Argentinian Franco Colapinto will leave his current Formula 2 role, where he drives for MP Motorsport. He will join up to partner Alex Albon, driving the number 43 on his car.

Colapinto will join up to Williams after making his FP1 debut at Silverstone back in July, where then too he took Logan Sargeant's place to partner Albon for the session. This was part of James Vowles' evaluation of a potential route to fill his lineup for 2025.

In the end Vowles went for Sainz, but this opportunity in the next nine races is still a good one for Colapinto, where he could put himself in the window for a seat at another team on the grid for 2025 or even for the future plans of Williams. 

Colapinto, this coming weekend at Monza, will become the first Argentinian to race in the Formula One World Championship since Gaston Mazzacane in 2001. It will be an exciting time for he and his family for the lad who was born in Pilar, a city in the province of Buenos Aires.

On his way to open-wheel racing, Colapinto won the 2016 Pre Junior Argentine Karting Championship and the 2018 Karting at the Summer Youth Olympics .

In his way up the feeder series ranks, Colapinto has only won the Spanish F4 Championship but has managed to finish in the top three of the Formula Renault Eurocup and the Toyota Racing Series.

Colapinto has also competed in the European Le Mans Series and the Asian Le Mans Series in 2021. The newest F1 driver would finish third in the Asian Le Mans. 

In 2022, a new beginning dawned for Colapinto as he had a clear path towards the heights of Formula 2 and Formula 1, when he joined the Van Amersfoort Racing team in the FIA Formula 3 Championship, partnering Mexican driver Rafael Villagomez and American Reece Ushijima. 

In the first season, he would grab his first two victories in the season, taking place both at separate Italian circuits. His maiden win of the two came at Imola, whereas his second came in the final round of the season at Monza. Other podiums came at Austria, Hungary and Zandvoort as he went on to finish ninth in the standards.

For 2023, he would join up with MP Motorsport for the season partnering Mari Boya and Jonny Edgar. Franco Colapinto also, that January, was signed up to the Williams Driver Academy and joined their potential plans for the future.

Like 2022, Colapinto would pick up another two victories at the Silverstone sprint race and just like 2022, the sprint race at Monza. An additional two second place finishes and one third place finish would arise as he would go onto finish fourth in the standings with 110 points.

After the Formula 3 season had concluded in Monza, he would join up with MP Motorsport for the final round of the Formula 2 Championship at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi. He would not have the greatest of Formula 2 debuts by retiring in the feature race and finishing 19th in the sprint race.

That Formula 2 debut would be an important learning curve, as for 2024, it would be announced in October that Colapinto would continue in that MP Motorsport role alongside Dennis Hauger, just like the final round in Abu Dhabi. Colapinto would replace Jehan Daruvala on both occasions and Colapinto was keen to get started.

In the season so far, Colapinto has shone in a lot of areas in his performances, and would claim his maiden and only victory during the sprint race at Imola, in a challenging race. With strong performances in the Spanish and Austrian feature races, he sits sixth in the standings after round 10 of 14 of the 2024 campaign.

He now joins up to Williams, with a chance to show himself to the Formula 1 world in the remaining rounds of the 2024 Formula One World Championship. His Formula 1 debut will commence at the Italian Grand Prix while MP Motorsport search for a replacement for this coming weekend and the rest of the season.

Franco Colapinto will start it all off with free practice 1 on Friday.  

Brandon Whiteside
Writer - F1 Journal

In a dominant drive at Zandvoort, Lando Norris of McLaren picked up just his second career victory at the Dutch Grand Prix on Sunday afternoon to ignite championship battle.

Norris started from pole and despite losing the lead into turn 1, regained it on track and went on to win the race by over 22 seconds at the end of the 72 lap Dutch Grand Prix. He also picked up the fastest lap to make it a pole position, race win and fastest lap collection from Zandvoort.

The British driver picked up a win, ahead of home favourite Max Verstappen who was looking to equal Jim Clark's win record of four races on Sunday but was unable to due to the sheer pace of Norris' pace compared to Verstappen's Red Bull.

Verstappen would take second place ahead of Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, who after starting sixth, would collect his second podium in as many rounds after holding off a pressuring Oscar Piastri.

Max Verstappen would come into his home Grand Prix weekend in the Netherlands, with a 78-point championship lead over Lando Norris. 

There had been a lot of action unfolding across the Dutch Grand Prix weekend so far at Zandvoort with qualifying taking place on Saturday.

Qualifying was with just 19 out of the 20 cars as Logan Sargeant would be unable to participate due to a massive shunt breaking huge amounts of car and creating a significant repair job on Saturday for the Williams mechanics. He would be granted permission to take part in the Grand Prix by the FIA.

The drama would end there for Williams on Saturday, as after qualifying, Alex Albon was disqualified after the session for an illegal floor. After such a good initial qualifying, where he made Q3 and finished eighth, he would be disqualified and would therefore start 19th behind Sargeant.

There would be shocks in Q2 of qualifying with Carlos Sainz and Lewis Hamilton eliminated in the second part of qualifying. In the final classification, it would be 11th for Lewis Hamilton but he would be handed a three-place grid penalty for impeding Sergio Perez in Q1 so would start 14th.

By Q3, with a dominant lap, it would be Lando Norris taking pole position by over three tneths ahead of Max Verstappen, who would be denied a fourth successive pole position at the Zandvoort circuit.

It would be time for Grand Prix Sunday and unlike the previous two days where wet weather had played a part, dry skies and the sun was shining over the tricky and challenging Zandvoort circuit.

The top two in the championship would share the front row, Lando Norris ahead of Max Verstappen. Oscar Piastri and George Russell would share the second row of the grid and would be eager to cause an upset to the two on the front row.

Kevin Magnussen would be made to start from the pit lane for Haas after changing a component that is against parc freme rules and therefore the common punishment is for that driver to start from the pit lane. Therefore, there would be 19 cars on the grid as it was time for the 2024 Dutch Grand Prix.

The lights went out and the race was underway and a fantastic start from Verstappen saw him breeze into the lead at turn 1 and would have Lando Norris in his mirrors as he got out of the corner and took the lead of the race. 

Meanwhile, George Russell had made his way into third by taking the other McLaren of Oscar Piastri. Both McLaren cars had lost a position on the opening lap.

End of the first couple of laps and Verstappen had managed to pull over a second clear of Lando Norris, as DRS was enabled at the end of the first lap this was crucial. Verstappen. Norris was out of DRS range and was hoping to find rhythm again.

Lewis Hamilton was hoping to make progress and had got ahead of Daniel Ricciardo and Yuki Tsunoda in the first couple of laps. The Visa RB pair were behind him and now he was pressuring Nico Hulkenberg in the Haas for 11th.

Hukenberg's teammate Magnussen was fighting Logan Sargeant into turn 1 but had misjudged his braking and went into the gravel at turn 1. After making up decent ground at the start, he would go to the back of the pack and do it again.

Eventually, down the inside Lewis Hamilton made a move into turn 1 on Nico Hulkenberg and took 11th place with a good pass. He would then set his sights onto the point scoring positions of Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll, in the Aston Martin cars. 

Soon enough, he would be on the tail of Stroll and would find himself into 10th on lap 14 of the Grand Prix and after starting 14th, Hamilton was now in the points positions and next up on the road was his old teammate Fernando Alonso. 

Onto Lap 17 and the battle for the lead was hotting up as Norris had closed right behind Verstappen and was all over him, looking to regain first place, after starting from pole position.

One lap later and Verstappen was really under pressure and into the first corner, Norris went down the inside of turn 1 and took the lead of the race. A bold but brilliant move from Lando Norris and was now into the lead and where he started the race.

With clean air Norris, began to pull a gap and the McLaren's pace looked really strong over Verstappen, who looked to be struggling with tyre wear. As this was happening, the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc was hounding the other McLaren of Oscar Piastri.

Lewis Hamilton had managed to get ahead of Fernando Alonso but before he could overtake Pierre Gasly, his tyres had dropped off in terms of grip and performance and would subsequently pit, to get rid of the worn soft C3 compound of tyres. He would change onto the C1 hard compound.

On the following couple of laps it would be time for Leclerc to come into the pits after he was trying to find his away ahead of Oscar Piastri but not succeeding. Leclerc would fit the hard compound of tyres.

Lap 28 and Verstappen would pit from second position and would make his first pit stop of the Dutch Grand Prix after losing ground to Norris and would rejoin in fifth place. The following lap to cover a potential undercut Norris would come in and would come out more importantly ahead of Verstappen, but would not keep the lead.

Oscar Piastri would become the new race leader and would maintain it until lap 34 and he would then make his mandatory pit stop and gives up the lead of the race, with Norris retaking it again. Piastri would come out in fifth and would begin to chase after Russell.

Start of lap 40 and chasing and trying to get ahead of George Russell would be no more and Piastri would get his McLaren, ahead of the Mercedes, into fourth and would be hoping to get after Charles Leclerc and re-claim his starting place of third.

A couple of laps later, further back in the order, a five way battle was on between Kevin Magnussen, Alex Albon, Fernando Alonso, Pierre Gasly and Lance Stroll. Pierre Gasly made some super moves and got ahead of them all and now led the train of cars and was into 11th place.

By lap 46 and Piastri ​was closing up on Leclerc and becoming a large object in the mirrors of the Ferrari and was looking to try and take that final spot in the podium. He would then be within DRS range. He would persistently try but sadly for Oscar he was unable to do it all the way until lap 52, which would have been causing Oscar some frustration.

Meanwhile, Oscar's McLaren teammate Lando Norris was having a delightful time out in front an had over a 15-second lead.

Hamilton would come in for another change of tyres for soft tyres as he was struggling for pace on the hard compound. He had managed to come out in eighth and would have had lost ground to the other front runners, having to make his way through the field. 

His teammate George Russell would head in for fresh tyres as well, as he was struggling for grip. Like Hamilton, Russell would change onto the soft tyres and rejoined in seventh.

Lando Norris was doing a magnificent job in front and had shown calmness and maturity to an excellent degree on Sunday afternoon. After losing the lead at the start, he didn't give up and remained calm and cool under pressure, believing his own ability.

Not everything had gone to plan in the past and he had failed to maintain his cool and he had things get away from him in Spain and him retiring in Austia would have been a big struggle for him but he was able to use the summer break to full advantage.

Norris would pull a lead of over 22 seconds to Verstappen, who was someone who had such a dominant record at the circuit in the past, but it was a splendid drive from Norris who was leaps and bounds above the rest.

Around the banked final corner on lap 72, he would see the flag first for just the second time in his Formula One career, Lando Norris would be a Grand Prix winner. Lando Norris won the 2024 Dutch Grand Prix and with it driver of the day too.

Norris would secure the win ahead of his championship rival and also took the fastest lap on the very final lap of the Grand Prix with a great job. Max Verstappen would come across the line to finish second, which is where he started. After taking the lead, he may feel disappointed, but the McLaren of Lando Norris was just too quick for the reigning champion, and he would have to settle for second place.

There would be three teams on the podium as Charles Leclerc would collect his second podium in as many races as he held off Oscar Piastri, who had been struggling with dirty air to miss out on a podium. Piastri finished fourth ahead of Carlos Sainz who completed the top five.

Sergio Perez would finish sixth for Red Bull ahead of the two Mercedes cars in seventh and eighth, with George Russell ahead of Lewis Hamilton. Pierre Gasly of Alpine and Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin completed the top 10.

The race makes the championship picture interesting in both championships. Lando Norris' victory and fastest lap sees him close the gap to 70 points to championship leader Max Verstappen, who apart from the fastest lap, limited the damage to his lead as much as possible. 

Charles Leclerc sits third in the standings, 103 points off the championship lead after securing his second podium in a row, but he did lose points to championship leader Verstappen.

In terms of the Constructors Standings, just 30 points separate Red Bull from second place McLaren, after a great result for the Woking-based team. Ferrari sit third in the standings with 64 points separating them from the Red Bull, who are the championship leaders. 

Kick Sauber the only team without a point in 2024 after 15 rounds.

Simply excellent performance from Lando Norris and McLaren. He showed brilliant pace first of all on Saturday, to take pole position and earn his good spot on the grid. This would be in an attempt to give himself the best chance for victory, to put himself back in the championship fight.

Now the championships have closed, and Norris has delivered the most dominant performance and most matured performance of his Formula 1 career, some would argue, he will be really happy about how his race unravelled.

He never gave up, never lost composure despite losing the lead off the start, and found his way back ahead of his championship rival, Max Verstappen, and would then go onto win the Grand Prix to potentially reignite his championship battle.

Truly tremendous from Lando, he will have the chance to repeat the performance in just one weeks time, for the Italian Grand Prix at the iconic and legendary circuit. Free Practice will begin on Friday with two sessions of three across the weekend.  See you then!

Brandon Whiteside
​Writer - F1 Journal

After a qualifying session that threw up shocks and surprises on Saturday afternoon, saw Lando Norris of McLaren take pole position at Zandvoort for the 2024 Dutch Grand Prix.

Norris set a fantastic lap in a session that he looked strong in throughout by over three tenths of a second with a 1:09.673.

The British driver finished ahead of Max Verstappen, who missed out on a fourth successive pole position at Zandvoort, but did qualify in second. Verstappen, at his home event will start second and go from the front row.

Oscar Piastri completed the top three and qualified third for McLaren. George Russell in fourth and Sergio Perez in fifth completed the top five.

19 out of the 20 drivers would end up participating in the qualifying session, after a shunt for Logan Sargeant of Williams in free practice 3, ruling him out of participation as the repairs to his car were too lengthy.

There were some big shocks in Q2 in qualifying on Saturday afternoon. Ferrari's Carlos Sainz would be eliminated while Lewis Hamilton, one of the favourites for a top three start was also eliminated.

Hamilton's woes in qualifying didn't end there as after the session, he was called to the Stewards for he was alleged to have impeded Sergio Perez in Q1, in the middle sector of the lap.

Hamilton was found guilty of impeding and for the Grand Prix on Sunday he would take a three-place grid penalty. Initially this would have him drop to 15th on the grid but would be promoted to 14th after Alex Albon would also be in hot water for a technical issue.

After qualifying, Albon was disqualified by the Stewards after his car was referred by having an illegal floor. Albon's floor was found to lie outside the regulatory volume mentioned in Article 35.1 a) of the FIA Technical Regulations.

It would be disappointment for Albon after qualifying an impressive eighth place and getting into Q3 but would have all the work to do come Sunday.

It had already been a Saturday with Formula 1 action before the qualifying session to take place at Zandvoort for the 2024 Dutch Grand Prix, as the third and final practice session was to take place in the morning.

It would be an unusual top three to what many might have expected as Pierre Gasly was fastest for Alpine, ahead of Kevin Magnussen of Haas in second. Valtteri Bottas was third for Kick Sauber.

The session was under red flag conditions for the most part as Logan Sargeant had a massive shunt in between turn 3 and turn 4 severely damaging his car shattering debris and breaking parts all over the track, after he hit the barriers with some force.

Thankfully Sargeant was okay and was able to climb out but this would leave a significant repair task for the mechanics to do in time for qualifying later on that afternoon. Although they tried, the Williams mechanics were to no prevail and Logan would take no further part in the session

Unlike Free Practice 3 it would be a dry session for qualifying, so was on the weather forecast and the drivers would be hoping to make the top 15 and progress through into the second part of qualifying - Q2.

The green light would come on at the end of the pit lane and the session would begin with the Zandvoort crowd making it a good atmosphere. Could Max Verstappen be on pole by the end of qualifying for the Dutch Grand Prix? That would have to be determined over the first 60 minutes.

With 10 minutes remaining, it would be extremely tight between the top four, which had been led by Lewis Hamilton with a 1:11.375 and had Lando Norris in second just two one thousandths of a second off his time, and Max Verstappen would sit in third, just 18 thousandths off Hamilton's time (0.018).

Hamilton would be forced to make a trip to the Stewards office after the session had concluded for having allegedly impeded Sergio Perez in sector 2. Perez was less than impressed while Lewis pleaded his innocence on the team radio.

Carlos Sainz would be in the drop zone provisionally heading on to the final runs, and would need to find a time in order to progress through to Q2. Sergio Perez of Red Bull and Fernando Alonso were also at risk.

Sainz would get himself up into top spot, with a great time as his teammate Charles Leclerc would improve to go second fastest. The track was ramping up significantly towards the end of the session and Sainz would not stay at the top. 

Behind him on the track, crossing the line on his final flying lap, George Russell would beat the lap by a comfortable margin and go fastest but he would not be the man to finish fastest. That honour would go to Sergio Perez, who would make use of the improved track and would end the session quickest and breezed through to Q2.

Logan Sargeant, who didn't take part, would be joined by the Visa RB of Daniel Ricciardo, the Alpine of Esteban Ocon and the two Kick Sauber cars of Zhou Guanyu and Valtteri Bottas. The remaining 15 would progress to the second part of qualifying.

After the first five had been eliminated from qualifying, it was time for the second round where the 15, who had progressed, would become 10, as the slowest five drivers would once again be eliminated.

With a potential threat of rain, the drivers could not wait too make it out onto the circuit, in case the maximum grip would disappear. The drivers would head out onto the track as the green light came on at the end of the pit lane.

The two Ferrari drivers would be the first drivers to lay down the benchmark lap times for the others to aim to beat. It was a difficult lap from Carlos Sainz and he would be beaten by teammate Charles Leclerc. It would be used tyres though for both of the Ferrari cars. 

However the Mercedes, Red Bull and McLaren cars had yet to stamp their authority on Q2, and Oscar Piastri would take to the top of the time sheets with Max Verstappen managing to beat the Ferrari drivers would unable to beat Piastri.

Norris who had looked tremendous in the first qualifying session would go top and only just ahead of his McLaren teammate Piastri. He was fastest by nine thousandths of a second (0.009).

As for the two Mercedes drivers, Russell would go third ahead of Verstappen but behind Norris by 0.056s. Lewis Hamiton would go fifth with seven minutes remaining.

Three minutes to go and there would be queue at the end of the pit lane as everyone would be trying to create a gap on circuit as there would be congestion easily made due to the short nature of the circuit.

Nico Hulkenberg would have been looking to try and make it through after a difficult weekend up until qualifying, after having an off-road excursion in each of the practice session. However, he would not make it through and would join his teammate.

The top four (Norris, Piastri, Russell and Verstappen) had decided to stay in the pits as they believed they would be safe from elimination in Q2, but Hamilton who started the final runs in fifth would need to go again.

Sainz would find himself in trouble and would be eliminated after he struggled to get to grips with the car, as it was lacking grip but perhaps the bigger shock was Lewis Hamilton, who would join him in being knocked out of Q2 after a scruffy lap. A nightmare of a qualifying for Lewis Hamilton who had a potential to start further back than 12th as he was off to see the Stewards.

Norris, Piastri, Russell, Sergio Perez, Max Verstappen, Lance Stroll, Fernando Alonso, Alex Albon, Pierre Gasly and Charles Leclerc would all progress through to Q3 and the top 10 shootout.

It would be time for the final part of qualifying and the top 10 shootout. Whoever ended this session fastest would take pole position for the 2024 Dutch Grand Prix. 

Could Max Verstappen make it four pole positions in a row at Zandvoort or would it be one of the McLaren cars. The green light would soon be on at the end of the pit lane and the hunt for pole position is underway.

Lando Norris would be fastest on the first runs and it would be provisional pole for the McLaren man and a provisional front row lockout as Oscar Piastri was in a provisional second place just over a tenth back.

Max Verstappen was in a provisional third place with him being 0.148s behind Norris' time of 1:10.074. Verstappen would need to find a mind-blowing lap to take pole at his home event.

Things were looking very good for Lando Norris, who had looked extremely strong throughout the entire session. Lance Stroll, Sergio Perez, Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon would leave it until the last laps to set their flying laps in the session.

After some time in the pit lane, swapping for fresh soft tyres and reviewing data, the drivers fighting for pole position would head out onto the circuit in preparation for their final qualifying laps at Zandvoort to set the grid for the 2024 Dutch Grand Prix.

Verstappen would need to pull out an almighty lap to have any chance of taking pole position for his home Grand Prix. He would go to provisional pole by a narrow margin and with Lando Norris behind him on the road, going quick, his provisional pole would be short lived.

A stunner of a lap from Norris would see him go to pole position with a 1:09.673, over three tenths of a second faster than Verstappen and would all but seal pole position as third place Oscar Piastri would stay third with his final run of the session and that would complete it 

Therefore, for the fourth time in his Formula 1 career, Lando Norris would take pole position for the the Dutch Grand Prix and would become the first driver in the modern era of Formula 1 Grand Prix at Zandvoort, to take pole position other than Max Verstappen.

Max Verstappen would still have a chance to win the race on Sunday as he would start on the front row in second.

Oscar Piastri may also fancy his chances from third and it could be a real chance for a double McLaren podium. George Russell would have a much better day than his teammate in fourth with Verstappen's Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez completing the top five.

Charles Leclerc would take sixth for Ferrari, with Fernando Alonso finishing seventh for Aston Martin. Alex Albon would split the two Aston Martin cars in eighth, as Lance Stroll was ninth. Pierre Gasly for Alpine completed the top 10.

With a fantastic qualifying session on Saturday, the Dutch Grand Prix is one that should not be missed if possible on Sunday afternoon, with a potential for a mixture of weather and strategy also potentially playing a part. That is when the action continues.

After qualifying the Stewards had a matter of a few issues to deal with following on from the Saturday afternoon session ahead of Sunday's Dutch Grand Prix.

​ Firstly, Lewis Hamilton was under investigation by the Stewards after the session, for having allegedly impeded Sergio Perez in Q1 at turn 9. After the investigation, Hamilton was determined to have been at fault and because of this was handed a three-place grid penalty for Sunday's race.

This would demote Hamilton from 12th to 15th. However, he would be promoted to 14 for Sunday's Dutch Grand Prix as over at Williams, bad news for Alex Albon was to add to a terrible day for Williams.

After qualifying had concluded, Alex Albon would be disqualified from qualifying after a technical infringement, After qualifying eighth, Albon was disqualified for having a floor that breached the technical regulations and therefore has his eighth place taken away.

A disappointing day for Albon after what looked to be such a great result, after he was showing great pace.for Williams but he will have the work to during the Grand Prix which will take place on Sunday afternoon, in the Netherlands at Zandvoort.

1. Lando Norris (Great Britain, McLaren)
2. Max Verstappen (Netherlands, Red Bull Racing)
3. Oscar Piastri (Australia, McLaren)
4. George Russell (Great Britain, Mercedes)
5. Sergio Perez (Mexico, Red Bull Racing)
6. Charles Leclerc (Monaco, Ferrari)
7. Fernando Alonso (Spain, Aston Martin)
8. Lance Stroll (Canada, Aston Martin)
9. Pierre Gasly (France, Alpine F1 Team)
10. Carlos Sainz (Spain, Ferrari)
11. Lewis Hamilton (Great Britain, Mercedes)
12. Yuki Tsunoda (Japan, Visa Cash App RB)
13. Nico Hulkenberg (Germany, Haas F1 Team)
14. Kevin Magnussen (Denmark, Haas F1 Team)
15. Daniel Ricciardo (Australia, Visa Cash App RB)
16. Esteban Ocon (France, Alpine F1 Team)
17. Valtteri Bottas (Finland, Kick Sauber)
18. Zhou Guanyu (China, Kick Sauber)
19. Alex Albon (Thailand, Williams Racing) DSQ 

         Logan Sargeant (United States, Williams Racing) NOT CLASSIFIED

Brandon Whiteside
Writer - F1 Journal

Pierre Gasly was quickest in a damp and non-eventful practice session on Saturday due to a lengthy red flag, after a big Logan Sargeant crash.

Gasly for Alpine was quickest on the weekend of Oliver Oakes' debut as Team Principal, in what was a heavily disrupted session due to a red flag, where the big crash from Logan Sargeant saw the session suspended for the majority.

Sargeant found the barrier at turn 4 after getting on the grass at turn 3 after dipping a wheel on the grass. This caused huge damage to his car and the barrier, which took a lengthy period to be repaired, as it was in an unsafe condition to continue the on-track running.

There would be two minutes left when the session restarted, which left some drivers not making it to the line to start one flying lap before the end of the session. Gasly would finish fastest, just ahead of Haas' Kevin Magnussen, who was second. Valtteri Bottas made it an impressive third for Kick Sauber.

Saturday meant qualifying day at Zandvoort ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix after two practice sessions on the Friday, which saw two Brits in Lando Norris and George Russell, end the sessions fastest. 

However, there would still be one to go on Saturday morning ahead of the day's later qualifying. Like FP1, it would be wet to start the session and drivers would be slow in heading out with Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen of Haas and Valtteri Bottas of Kick Sauber being the first out there to test the conditions.

Hulkenberg would swap his full wets for intermediate tyres as the conditions were fit for them but his braking issues were apparent once again and he went straight on at turn 11 and grazed the barriers - damaging his front wing.

Drivers were able to get a few laps set and Fernando Alonso would set the benchmark time in the early stages, pipping the McLaren of Oscar Piastri who initially was fastest. Alonso's teammate Lance Stroll also had a decent lap to go third.

George Russell and Oscar Piastri would have small excursions at turn 1, as they were pushing the limits.

However, a huge smash involving Logan Sargeant saw a halt to all proceedings as he got caught on the grass at the exit of turn 3 and turn 4  and became a complete passenger in a huge smash, making his car a complete wreck and part of the rear caught fire.

The red flag was brought out almost immediately and the most important thing is that Logan was okay and climbed out of his car. However, the track and his car would not be in good condition to continue running and would be unlikely to be mended in time for qualifying. 

Most of the session would be under the red flag with a potential restart announced from 12:25 local time, which would be five minutes of running remaining. This would be pushed back to 12:27 local time for three minutes remaining. 

Although the session would restart, there would be only limited drivers able to set a lap time as some had not got to the line in time. As the 20 drivers were heading out, home hero Max Verstappen would be wanting to get on with it and therefore would pass a McLaren in the pit lane exit and he would also pass George Russell while crossing the white line.

This would be failing to follow the race directors instructions, allegedly, and he would be investigated after the session.

With the lap times competed as the chequered flag would be out, a surprise top three would come out of it at the end. Pierre Gasly would be the driver who would maximise the track time to go fastest overall for the Alpine team, with something celebrating Oliver Oakes' first Grand Prix as team principal with the Endstone outfit.

Gasly would be fastest ahead of Haas' Kevin Magnussen, who had his top spot pipped in the very latter stages of the final laps. While, the Kick Sauber of Valtteri Bottas would make the top three, with a great lap from the podium finisher around this circuit - in 2021.

Lando Norris was fourth for McLaren, ahead of Fernando Alonso who completed the top five. Esteban Ocon finished sixth for Alpine, a good result for the Alpine team.

Oscar Piastri was seventh for McLaren ahead of Lance Stroll for Aston Martin, making it two McLarens and two Aston Martins inside the top 10. Nico Hulkenberg was ninth and Carlos Sainz rounded off the top 10.

After a non-eventful session, action will return for qualifying on Saturday afternoon where the hunt for pole position will be on and the state of weather as unpredictable.

Brandon Whiteside
​Writer - F1 Journal

After three weeks away for the annual summer break in the Formula 1 season, the world championship returned to action on Friday for the opening two practice sessions of the Dutch Grand Prix, at Zandvoort.

After little running in the first half of the one hour free practice session, there would be running completed with wet and windy conditions playing their part in hampering the teams collecting data and testing their upgrades.

Lando Norris would set the quickest time in the opening practice session as he beat home hero and championship leader Max Verstappen, who was to tenths back in second. Lewis Hamilton would finish in third place for Mercedes, after winning the last Grand Prix before the summer break, in Belgium

Free Practice 1 would see Robert Shwartzman participate in place of Valtteri Bottas as part of a young driver test, for what would be his fourth in his Formula 1 career, after three with Ferrari across 2022 and 2023. On the intermediate running he would set a very impressive time to go third before the final 10 minutes as dry tyres would be used.

However, as for free practice 2, there would be a tight top five as they would be separated by just three tenths. It would be Mercedes' George Russell who would finish top of the time sheets ahead of McLaren's Oscar Piastri, who was second and less than a tenth off Russell.

Piastri would split the two Mercedes drivers with Lewis Hamilton, Russell's teammate, in third. The other McLaren of Lando Norris would be fourth, while home hero and championship leader Max Verstappen finished fifth.

The day would be started off with news before the sessions even began. Alpine confirmed early on Friday morning, that Jack Doohan will partner Pierre Gasly in 2025 after signing a contract to race with the team next season.

After being their reserve driver in 2024, and impressing in his Formula 2 and Formula 3 career, Doohan will make the graduation to Formula 1, becoming the second Australian to do so.

The opening hour of practice on Friday would see little to no running in the first 30 minutes of the 60 minute session due to the rain and wind playing its part as no drivers would be wanting to risk their cars with their new upgrades on and burn out their wet tyres, with the risk of wet weather for Saturday and qualifying.

Charles Leclerc would be the driver who would feel the bravest in the full wet stages of the session and his 1:26.111 would hold first position in the early stage of the season.

Nico Hulkenberg would also be testing the wet weather conditions early doors but would be having a few difficulties as he would go a bit wide and into the gravel, on two occasions in sector 2, with the German driver being able to prevent the car from being beached. 

Soon after the first half an hour, the track would dry slightly, with the rain stopping and the sun shining on the Zandvoort circuit. Therefore, intermediate tyres would be used on circuits, with all of the drivers heading out to test the circuit and set a couple of laps 

One driver who was pushing hard was Max Verstappen but maybe a little too hard as he clipped the curb at turn 11 and went into a spin but kept it out of the wall. After safely rejoining, Verstappen continued on attempting to set a time. On the following la, he would, going provisionally fastest.

As the track continued to dry, Verstappen's time would be beaten on intermediate tyres with Lando Norris holding the fastest time for McLaren, ahead of his fellow Brit George Russell, with 10 minutes to go. Robert Shwartzman was having a great session in third. 

Soon though, with 10 minutes remaining, drivers would fancy the dry compound of tyres and Lando Norris would continue to shine around zandvoort. A 1:17.367 would see him go fastest on the first runs. George Russell would split the two McLarens to go second quickest - demoting Norris' teammate Oscar Piastri to third.

Piastri would not be third for long, as he would go quickest. The track was ramping up and constantly improving as George Russell would then bump the Hungarian Grand Prix winner down to second.

Five minutes to go and George Russell would re-claim first place after he lost it Norris and once again to Piastri. Many times were improving and the timing sheets were changing an awful lot, heading into the final five minutes. 

Russell's time would soon be beaten by almost a second by Norris and his teammate Lewis Hamilton, who would jump ahead into second. Russell would soon re-claim second from his Mercedes teammate, Hamilton, as the session entered the final two minutes.

By the end of the session, despite the order chopping and changing consistently, Lando Norris would have the top spot at the end of the session ahead of championship leader and home hero Max Verstappen. Two tenths separated the leading pair with Norris' best time on the soft compound being a 1:12.322.

Lewis Hamilton finished third for Mercedes, with his teammate George Russell finishing fifth, as Ferrari's Carlos Sainz finished fourth. Alex Albon was sixth for Williams ahead of McLaren's Oscar Piastri in seventh.

Nico Hulkenberg, Kevin Magnussen finished eighth and ninth for Haas with Kick Sauber's Zhou Guanyu completed the top 10.
​

After a break from the opening practice session on Friday afternoon, at Zandvoort, which ended with many lap times, as the track eventually became dry for the final stages. Lando Norris would be looking to go back to back and make it the perfect Friday, by topping the second practice session, after earlier topping the first.

However for FP2, it would be a dry session throughout unlike the day's earlier Fp1, which meant the drivers would not have to worry about a slippery circuit. However, they would have to be cautious as there would be a strong wind, with the track being right next to the sea.

Drivers would be finding some difficulties with the wind, with George Russell being one of the drivers having a bit of trouble down in sector 2.

The infamous turn 1 Tarzan corner was also a place where drivers were being caught out. Sergio Perez spinning into the gravel with his teammate Max Verstappen almost repeating the same result. Perez would be able to continue on.

However, not being able to continue would be Nico Hulkenberg, who had been struggling with the braking in both sessions. After spinning at turn 1, there was nothing he could do to keep his car out of the barrier and the red flag would be brought out to suspend the running.

Carlos Sainz, who had his move to Williams announced over the summer break, would find an issue in the session too. A gearbox issue caused him to pit, while the team would have a close inspection. This would ruin the Spaniard's session, leaving him with work to do in the final practice session on Saturday morning.

In terms of drivers being able to put a fair amount of lap times, Hamilton would go top, with around half of the session to go on his medium tyre run. However, he would not finish there as all the drivers including himself would improve upon the track condition.

By the end of the session, all of the top 10 had set their best lap times on the soft compound of tyres, which is regularly known as the fastest compound. The top 10 was separated by under nine tenths of a second while the top five were separated by just under three tenths.

At the chequered flag, George Russell would end the session fastest overall with a great lap of 1:10.702 for his Mercedes team, with a really promising session for the team as a whole. Lewis Hamilton would finish third, which is where he finished in the opening session.

McLaren would also have a positive session like Mercedes with both cars in the top four. Although Oscar Piastri had a bit of trouble with the visors on his helmet, he would split the Mercedes pair, to be 0.061 off Russell's time in second place.

Piastri would finish ahead of his teammate Lando Norris, who was fourth, but still close and very much showing he could be a contender for Sunday's Grand Prix with strong pace. Home hero and championship leader Max Verstappen could only manage fifth, but does have a 100% record around Zandvoort in his F1 career, so he could very much use that as a confidence boost.

Fernando Alonso for Aston Martin, Yuki Tsunoda of Visa RB and Charles Leclerc of Ferrari would finish in the top 10 for the first and only time on Friday, while Kevin Magnussen would make a return in eighth, with Alex Albon for Williams finishing 10th.

Brandon Whiteside
​Writer - F1 Journal

For the first time in three weeks, Formula One returns to action after the summer break for the Dutch Grand Prix – this coming weekend.

With 10 rounds remaining, and seven different race winners in the first 14 rounds of the championship, there is a lot of excitement a Formula 1‘s return in 2024.

This will be the first of the final three European rounds of the season, with the Italian Grand Prix at Monza of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku to commence in the next few weeks.

After a frantic first 14 rounds, Max Verstappen, of Red Bull, has a decent lead at the top of the driver’s standings. 78 points is the lead for Verstappen over Lando Norris of McLaren. Charles Leclerc sits third in the standings, 100 points of Verstappen.

​This weekend’s round, the Dutch Grand Prix, will be Max Verstappen’s home event - at the legendary Zandvoort circuit.

After three weeks since the last race took place at the iconic Spa Francorchamps circuit, for round 14 at the Belgian Grand Prix, the World Championship heads to another iconic European venue in Zandvoort, for round 15.

Zandvoort is a circuit that is used by a lot of European junior categories, such as British F4, GB3 and the Formula Regional European Championship. It also plays host to a round in the DTM Championship and Porsche Carrera Cup Germany.

The Dutch venue has also played host to many Formula 1 Grand Prix that has seen many great races and many legendary drivers take to the top step of the podium.

Jim Clark has the most wins at the Zandvoort Circuit in the history of the Formula 1 World Championship with four to his name. Sir Jackie Stewart, Niki Lauda have picked up three.

Formula 1 returned to Zandvoort in 2021 after the last race before then came in 1985. Since 2021, each of the races has been won by Max Verstappen, putting him on three in total. This brings Verstappen to being one win shy of equalling Jim Clark’s record that has been held since 1967.

Verstappen is also the only driver, since F1 has returned to Zandvoort, to stand on the podium for all 3 Grand Prix. 7 different drivers have been on the podium here since 2021.

The circuit first held an F1 Grand Prix in 1952 and has a lap distance of 4.259km, with banked corners and much elevation change.

14 corners in total make up the circuit’s layout with two DRS Zones featuring - down the start/finish straight into turn 1, with the other DRS zone being into turn 10. 72 laps of racing are to come on Sunday with the race distance being 306.587km.

Despite Verstappen having three wins around here, it was his 2021 championship rival Lewis Hamilton, who holds the lap record around the circuit with a 1:11.097. Hamilton set the lap in 2021, the year where he has finished on the podium at Zandvoort.

The most recent race at Zandvoort took place in 2023, in what was a manic race on a weekend full of drama, after the summer break.

In Friday's free practice 2 session, drama would begin when Daniel Ricciardo would crash at turn 3 breaking his hand and ruling him out of action for the weekend and many weekends to come.

He would be replaced for the remainder of the weekend by New Zealand driver Liam Lawson, who would come in to make his Formula 1 debut for AlphaTauri.

On Saturday, attention would turn to qualifying and Verstappen's dominance around the circuit would continue, with pole position from the home hero. Verstappen would take pole by over half a second to McLaren's Lando Norris, who was second. George Russell was third for Mercedes.

When attention turned to the Grand Prix, there was a lot of drama as mixed conditions took a grip hold of the race with different drivers finding grip at different points of the race. This created excitement.

By the end of the 72 laps, it was no great surprise as Verstappen took victory once again in 2023 for Red Bull. He was joined on the podium by Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso, who finished second. In a great drive, Pierre Gasly would finish third for Alpine.

​Former Formula 2 runner up and World Endurance Championship competitor Robert Shwartzman is to compete for Kick Sauber, at free practice 1 of the Dutch Grand Prix.

Shwartzman has participated in three free practice sessions, previously in his career, meaning this will be his fourth.

After the first three practice sessions took place with Ferrari, this will be his first practice session test with the Sauber team of his career. He had two of his three previous tests with Ferrari in 2022, with one in 2023.

​Shwartzman will partner his fellow 2021 Formula 2 graduate Zhou Gunayu at Zandvoort, in free practice 1, as he replaces Finnish driver Valtteri Bottas.

​The most recent round in the 2024 FIA Formula One World Championship took place at the end of the month of July, in Belgium, for the Belgian Grand Prix - Round 14.

This would be the final five rounds across six weeks, in a congested part of the 2024 season, where a lot of drama had occurred and there would be great excitement, heading into the Belgian Grand Prix weekend.

In qualifying, it was a track that was constantly improving, after wet weather had disrupted the FP3 session and the Formula 2 sprint race prior to the qualifying session.

News coming into the qualifying would be that Max Verstappen would take a 10-place grid penalty for taking his fourth internal combustion engine of the season, which is more than the permitted three allowed for each driver.

He would initially take top spot in qualifying but it would drop him 11th with the penalty, meaning Ferrari's Charles Leclerc would inherit pole position - for the 25th of his Formula 1 career.
Sergio Perez would join him on the front row.

When attention turned to the race, it initially seemed like a genius strategic call from George Russell, to attempt the one-stop strategy as he managed to keep his Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton behind, to win the race in what would be a Mercedes 1-2 in the provisional classification.

​However, due to George Russell's car being below the minimum weight required at the end of the race. He would therefore be disqualified from the event. This would therefore give Hamilton the win and promote Oscar Piastri to second, for his second top two finish in consecutive races. Pole sitter Charles Leclerc would be promoted to third.

​With seven winners in the first 14 rounds of the season, and 10 rounds remaining, all is still to play for as action returns from the summer break at Zandvoort this coming weekend.

With Verstappen and Red Bull looking to return to victory for the first time since June 23rd, this could be the round for them to do it, with Verstappen having an 100% record in Formula 1, around his home venue.

Alternatively, McLaren and Mercedes will be looking to continue where they left off before the summer break.

​Free Practice 1 will see Formula 1 action return on Friday.

Track Times

• Free Practice 1 23/08: 12:30-13:30
• Free Practice 2 23/08: 16:00-17:00
• Free Practice 3 24/08: 11:30-12:30
• Qualifying 24/08: 15:00-16:00
• Race 25/08: 15:00

UK Time

• Free Practice 1 23/08: 11:30-12:30
• Free Practice 2 23/08: 15:00-16:00
• Free Practice 3 24/08: 10:30-11:30
• Qualifying 24/08: 14:00-15:00
• Race 25/08: 14:00

​

Brandon Whiteside
Writer - F1 Journal