MAX VERSTAPPEN thrilled 70,000 home fans by winning pole for Sunday’s Dutch GP ahead of title rival Lewis Hamilton.
Red Bull ace Verstappen beat Mercedes duo Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas at Zandvoort, with Pierre Gasly an impressive fourth for Alpha Tauri.
Dutch star Verstappen trails Britain’s reigning world champ by just three points in this year’s title standings.
And after missing out on pole Hamilton said: “It was so close.
“First I want to say a big thank you to all the orange fans, the Dutch fans, what an amazing venue, what an amazing track.
“Great support from the fans here and I appreciate it. Max did an amazing lap. I was so close and I gave it everything.
“It’s a difficult circuit to overtake but what a place for us to be racing.
“Strategy will come into it and it’s great to see so many people here. Hopefully the track provides a great race.”
FULL STORY TO FOLLOW
RUNNING ORDER FOR DUTCH GP
Here’s how they will line up at Zandvoort for Sunday’s Dutch Grand Prix
- Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
- Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
- Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes)
- Pierre Gasly (Alpha Tauri)
- Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
- Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)
- Antonio Giovinazzi (Alfa Romeo)
- Esteban Ocon (Alpine)
- Fernando Alonso (Alpine)
- Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren)
- George Russell (Williams)
- Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
- Lando Norris (McLaren)
- Nicholas Latifi (Williams)
- Yuki Tsunoda (Alpha Tauri)
- Sergio Perez (Red Bull)
- Sebastian Vettel (Aston Martin)
- Robert Kubica (Alfa Romeo)
- Mick Schumacher (Haas)
- Nikita Mazepin (Haas)
Source: Motorsport - thesun.co.uk