Winners and losers from 2025 Dutch Grand Prix qualifying

Formula 1 is back from its mandatory summer shutdown period, and the sport’s penultimate visit to the Zandvoort Circuit for the Dutch Grand Prix has been packed with drama thus far.

In qualifying, Oscar Piastri secured pole, inching out Lando Norris as the McLaren pair do battle over this year’s title – a fight headed by the Australian by nine points ahead of the final 10 races of the year.

Winners and losers from 2025 Dutch Grand Prix qualifying

Winner: Oscar Piastri

Despite looking to be the McLaren driver on the back foot all weekend long, Oscar Piastri was able to lock in when it mattered to snag pole position for the 2025 Dutch Grand Prix.

As we head into these final 10 races of the season, it’s clear that the World Drivers’ Championship will be decided in favour of a McLaren driver, but the No. 1 question remains: Which one?

Piastri remains in the lead of the title, but by a measly nine points. It’s likely that we’re going to see this fight stretch out until the bitter end, with consistency likely to be a crucial factor come the conclusion of 2025.

While Norris was consistent in practice at Zandvoort, Piastri pulled out a stellar lap when he needed it most to snag pole position — and pole is the first step toward securing a victory.

Loser: Lando Norris

Starting from second on the grid would be a blessing for most drivers in the F1 2025 field, but anything other than pole position was a loss for Lando Norris.

Look at the timing charts for practice, and you’ll find one name graces the top of the list: Norris.

Coming off the back of three wins in the last four races leading up to summer break, the Briton looked to be turning the tides of momentum in his favour. His early weaknesses — slow starts, messy restarts, and strategic mishaps — had fallen away in a stunning display of quick thinking and decisive manoeuvres.

But he and Piastri are quite evenly matched in the performance department. With the team refusing to play favourites, Norris needs every advantage he can get, and he missed a significant opportunity by losing out on pole position.

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Winner: Max Verstappen

The Hungarian Grand Prix marked a low point in Red Bull Racing’s 2025 campaign. The team’s star performer Max Verstappen could only manage ninth come the chequered flag, and it was an uninspiring drive to get there.

That frustration seems to have evaporated just in time for the Dutch Grand Prix, Verstappen’s home race, and when it came time to set the first five rows of the starting grid, the hometown hero was the only driver even remotely capable of bringing the fight to the dominant McLarens.

Verstappen told media that the RB21 is still “struggling for grip and general balance,” but that the machine felt at its best in qualifying.

Combine a more manageable car with the morale boost associated with a driver’s home race, and you’ve got a recipe for a standout performance in the midst of a summer slump.

Loser: Lance Stroll

Zandvoort has not been kind to Lance Stroll. In a weekend where Aston Martin looked capable of challenging for the first few rows of the grid, the Canadian driver lost control of his AMR25 near the start of Free Practice 2, forcing his team to break curfew to repair the machine in time for qualifying.

Then, when qualifying came, Stroll lost control on his first flying lap and cracked the wall again.

He was able to return his AMR25 to the garage for service, since the second crash was far less severe. But it was nevertheless enough to see him sit out the remainder of the qualifying. In fact, the Canadian was so frustrated that he walked out of his media interviews mid-question.

Fernando Alonso and Stroll sit 11th and 12th in the drivers’ standings, respectively, but the real battle here is for position in the constructors’ title. Aston Martin currently sits sixth overall, but it only has a one-point advantage over Sauber and a seven-point advantage over Racing Bulls.

Those are the kinds of gaps that can be transformed in a weekend. With Aston looking incredibly strong at Zandvoort, the team would have been hoping to take advantage of its pace to score what could turn out to be decisive points. Unfortunately, with Stroll starting in 20th, those hopes all rest on the shoulders of Alonso.

Winner: Isack Hadjar

Lining up fourth on the grid is none other than Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar, who snagged his best-ever qualifying position in the Netherlands.

To put that into greater context: That means Hadjar beat both Ferraris, both Mercedes, and one Red Bull. And he out qualified teammate Liam Lawson by four positions.

Hadjar told media, including PlanetF1.com, that the car was “exactly like I wanted” and that it was “responding really well, especially on that final lap.” Indeed, it was a lap strong enough that he’ll be lining up alongside Red Bull family stablemate Max Verstappen.

There are very few open seats remaining as we near the F1 2026 season, with a large portion of them coming at Red Bull-affiliated teams. Both Racing Bulls seats are open, and there will be a slot beside Verstappen at Red Bull. Hadjar is one of several drivers looking to lock down a contract, but his Dutch qualifying performance is exactly what teams will be looking for in a future driver.

Loser: Alex Albon

Alex Albon fell victim to a slow exit from the pit lane at Zandvoort, and it cost him a shot at starting within the top 10.

As he explained to media, including PlanetF1.com, after being knocked out in Q2 to secure a 15th-place starting slot, “Basically when we came out of the garage, there was a… I must have been waiting for about two and a half minutes to get out of the pit lane.”

Further, once he did get on track, he was spit out into a group of faster cars trying to set a flying lap, which forced Albon to undertake a very cautious and slow out lap. By the time he got around to go for his flying run, Albon found that his tyres had cooled, compromising his ability to perform to the level Williams has been demonstrating this weekend.

It’s clear the Thai-British driver has pace; he was seventh quickest in final practice and set the sixth-fastest time in Q1. But unlucky timing compromised his performance when it really counted.

Winner: Fernando Alonso

Tenth on the grid may not have been what Fernando Alonso was hoping for, but it’s nevertheless a strong showing during a season that was been characterised by a major slump in form in the early going.

The AMR25 is responding extremely well to Zandvoort, where it’s able to flaunt its slow-speed corner pace, and in Alonso’s hands, it has looked like a rocket ship.

Though the Spaniard would have likely been hoping for a higher starting slot, he’ll nevertheless be starting within the points — and as we noted above in the Lance Stroll section, Aston Martin is going to need all the points it can get to continue holding strong in the constructors’ title standings.

Loser: Haas

Haas was effectively nowhere during qualifying for the Dutch Grand Prix, with Esteban Ocon qualifying 18th and Oliver Bearman 19th.

Neither driver made a smashing impression during practice, and come Q1, they both made errors during their flying laps which prevented them from challenging for a better start.

Team principal Ayao Komatsu stated in Haas’ qualifying report that the team was somewhat taken aback by the performance, since both drivers had put on some decent performances in practice. Now, the team will be hoping its race pace is far more impressive than its one-lap pace – especially so when the squad was referred to stewards for a breach of regulations surrounding Bearman’s car.

Read next: Dutch GP: Piastri shocks Norris to claim pole as Stroll crashes again