Dutch Grand Prix: Qualifying Recap

Both drivers successfully found the pace in their VF-24s to advance out of Q1 – the opening round of the knockout qualifying format. Magnussen posted a 1:11.630 lap on his second set of Pirelli P Zero Red soft tires to secure P13 and a slot in the next round. Hulkenberg ran three new sets of the softs with a fastest time of 1:11.832 on his second set earning P15 and the final position in Q2.

Hulkenberg kicked off Q2 on a used rubber, the German banking a 1:11.611 to start. With new softs bolted on Hulkenberg set a faster lap of 1:11.215 to secure P14 on Sunday’s grid. Magnussen ran two fresh sets of the softest rubber in Q2. The Dane’s first outing proved to be his best effort – a 1:11.295 delivering P15 at the checkered.

McLaren’s Lando Norris earned a fourth career pole position in Q3 – the British racer clocking a 1:09.673 to best home favorite and three-time Dutch Grand Prix pole-sitter, Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen (1:10.029) to the top spot in qualifying.



Nico Hulkenberg:

“It was tough in quali and the wind really picked-up again in the afternoon, but it was the first clean run I’d had this weekend. Every other session I’ve had has been interrupted, and it’s been a very difficult build-up to qualifying. Now at least, I’ve produced good clean laps and that was actually pretty decent. I’m not too unhappy with how qualifying went but obviously you always have the feeling that because we missed so much yesterday, we’re a step behind chasing. Tomorrow’s going to be challenging as I didn’t have much practice, so I’ll just have to see how the car feels, react correctly, and make the most of it.”

Kevin Magnussen:

“I’m slightly disappointed, I think we had a feeling we’d be slightly better. We fell at the rear of that little group between P10 and P15 unfortunately, so it’s still possible to do something tomorrow but it will require good pace, but hopefully we’ll have that. It’s so close, hopefully things swing our way and we’ll get an opportunity. P15 makes it harder tomorrow, but there’s still points to play for.”

Ayao Komatsu, Team Principal:

“The qualifying result was obviously very disappointing. Kevin had reasonably good preparation throughout the practice sessions and his first Q2 run was good, but on his final run he couldn’t improve, so that was very disappointing. Nico was on the backfoot because he went off several times during practice, so we ran Nico on three new sets of tires in Q1 to get him started. I feel like he was so much on the backfoot and with everyone in qualifying being so tight, if you’re that far behind you have no chance. Comparing laps, I think the cut-off around Q3 is where we should be, so I don’t think we’ve maximized our performance. It’s tricky for the race as it’s difficult to overtake here, but we’ll work overnight to see what we can do tomorrow.”

Today's Data:

Event: Qualifying for the Dutch Grand Prix – Saturday August 24
Location: Circuit Zandvoort, The Netherlands
Layout: 4.259-kilometer (2.646-mile), 14-turn circuit
Weather: Mostly Cloudy
Air Temps: 24.6 degrees Celsius (76.2 degrees Fahrenheit)
Track Temps: 31 degrees Celsius (87.8 degrees Fahrenheit)
Team Result: Hulkenberg qualified 14th, Magnussen qualified 15th

Free Practice 3 (FP3) Rundown:

Magnussen: 2nd overall (1:20.450), 9 laps 
Hulkenberg: 9th overall (1:22.354), 5 laps
Fastest: Pierre Gasly of Alpine (1:20.311)

Q1 Qualifying: 18-mins with all Drivers – Top 15 Advance to Q2

Magnussen: 13th overall (1:11.630) – Advanced to Q2 
Hulkenberg: 15th overall (1:11.832) – Advanced to Q2 
Fastest: Sergio Perez of Red Bull Racing (1:11.006)

Q2 Qualifying: 15-mins – Top 10 Advance to Q3

Hulkenberg: 14th overall (1:11.215) 
Magnussen: 15th overall (1:11.295) 
Fastest: Lando Norris of McLaren (1:10.496)