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Oscar Piastri Seals Dutch GP Pole as Verstappen Falters and Rookie Hadjar Stuns in P4

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Samriddhi Jaiswal | Last updated Aug 30, 2025 10:15 AM ET

Oscar Piastri continued McLaren’s dominant 2025 form by storming to pole position for the Dutch GP, while home hero Max Verstappen could only manage a P3 result.

Piastri delivered another perfect lap in Q3, clocking a 1:08.662 to edge out teammate Lando Norris by just 0.012 seconds. The result handed McLaren its latest front row lockout and reinforced the team’s grip on this season’s championship battle.

For Verstappen, the result marked another setback in a year where consistency has proven elusive. Despite the sea of orange at Zandvoort urging hom on, the reigning world champion could not match McLaren’s pace and will start Sunday’s race from P3 — a position that drew audible gasps from the Dutch crowd.

But the biggest shock came from rookie Isack Hadjar, who stunned the paddock by qualifying an extraordinary fourth.

The French driver, making his first full F1 season, put together a flawless lap under immense pressure to line up alongside Verstappen on the second row. His achievement instantly lit up social media, with fans hailing it as one of the standout qualifying performances of the year.

Mercedes and Ferrari were left trailing once again, with George Russell and Lewis Hamilton lining up fifth and seventh consecutively, while Charles Leclerc could only manage sixth after reporting instability in his Ferrari.

Piastri, however, remained focused on the bigger picture. “That was the definition of peaking at the right time. The whole weekend I felt good, there had just been a couple of corners I had not been able to go any faster,” he said.

QUALIFYING CLASSIFICATION

Piastri pips Norris to pole with Verstappen giving it everything to seize P3 #F1 #DutchGP pic.twitter.com/J7dUQg3MfZ
— Formula 1 (@F1) August 30, 2025

He also added that he was super happy to have come away with the pole position as his qualifying was not very perfect. "I didn't really go faster in those corners but found some more elsewhere. Super happy to come away with this result. It was looking like a tricky weekend so to come out with that, I'm pretty stoked," Piastri added.

With McLaren locking out the front row, Verstappen forced to fight from third, and Hadjar looking to upset the established order, Zandvoort is primed for a race brimming with storylines.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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