Last year in Qualifying for the Dutch Grand Prix, local hero Max Verstappen powered to pole position by a massive half second, this year he will start P2, his Red Bull three-tenths of a second shy of Lando Norris' top time in the McLaren but still aims to win it.
What a difference a year makes. McLaren is now top of the F1 performance pecking order as P1 for Norris and P3 for teammate Oscar Piastri in Saturday's Dutch GP Qualifying. Red Bull have the 'Max factor' that again served them well, the triple F1 World Champion splitting the (ironically) orange cars on the grid for Sunday's race start.
Sergio Perez, in the other Red Bull, gave a good account of himself by taking P5, albeit 0.4s shy of his teammate when it mattered in Q3. Nevertheless, finally a stronger Qualy showing for a change as the Mewdxican seeks to end a purple patch in his career.
Verstappen was upbeat despite P2 on Saturday, he said in parc ferme after an enthralling session: "The whole qualifying we lacked a bit of pace. I tried the best I could. I'm still happy to be on the front row.
"It was tricky out there with the wind. We had these gusts of wind, so every lap felt different, so you can't really go off a reference. I'm happy with the second. After yesterday, this is a good result."
Norris on pole by 0.356s over Verstappen
Verstappen also heaped praise on rival Norris: "Lando is very fast and that's why he is performing at the level he is at. That will only get better with experience."
From P2 can the Dutchman win the 24th edition of the Grand Prix at Zandvoort? He has won all three since the venue returned to the F1 calendar. He said of making it four in a row: "We will give it a good go but when you are more than three-tenths behind in qualifying, I think you have to be realistic.
"I will just try to have a good race," added Verstappen, which is all the RBR driver needs to do as he heads into the final ten GPs of the season with a handy, but not insurmountable 78 points lead in the 2024 F1 Drivers' Championship standings, and his quest for world title number four.
After his encouraging 271st F1 Qualifying session, Perez was satisfied: "The holiday has been good for us. We have been able to understand the issues we had, the weekend has confirmed that. It is all very promising. I believe there is a good second half of the season for us to have."
Perez has not been on the podium since the Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai, back in April and has done little to help Verstappen in the battle up front. Sunday in Zandvoort the Mexican has a chance to start redeeming himself with a strong result for his Red Bull team.
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