McLaren's Lando Norris clinches pole for Dutch Grand Prix

[p]The British driver set a time of one minute and 11.163 seconds, 0.102 seconds faster than compatriot [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/russell-george/xxF56RaN/"]Russell[/a], to take a critical advantage into this weekend's race.[/p][p][b]"It doesn't get any better, a little surprised honestly," said [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/norris-lando/WSVABbVF/"]Norris[/a], who had complained his McLaren was lacking in pace after finishing behind Russell in Saturday's sprint race.[/b][/p][p][b]"A decent lap. I was pushing as you've seen how close it is, every one-hundredth (of a second) can make a difference," Norris added.[/b][/p][embed guid="5ac87ecf-45be-4542-8e2f-b657d734f0e2" url="https://x.com/F1/status/2091180397564404020" social-type="twitter" /][p]Russell had been the quickest driver all weekend but was forced into second place on the grid on the last qualifying lap that was affected by light rain.[/p][p]World championship leader [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/antonelli-andrea-kimi/ptGu0mT1/"]Antonelli[/a] will be third on the grid, ruing a difficult session with an error in turn one costing him a few crucial tenths of a second.[/p][p]Since Zandvoort returned to the Grand Prix calendar in 2021, the pole-setter has won every time given the difficulty of overtaking on the unique track.[/p][p]Earlier Saturday, Russell closed the championship gap with Antonelli by winning his second sprint race of the season, staying ahead of the pack from pole to chequered flag.[/p][p]Sunday's race promises to be exceptionally tight, with McLaren and Ferrari narrowing the gap with Mercedes, the Silver Arrows enjoyed earlier in the season.[/p][p]Antonelli holds a 53-point lead over nearest rival [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/hamilton-lewis/tI5Vpe1h/"]Hamilton[/a], but the chasing pack have leapt forward with successful upgrades to their cars.[/p]