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Dutch GP
F1 Dutch GP Live Commentary and Updates - FP3 & Qualifying
Saturday's action from the 13th round of the 2023 Formula 1 season
F1 is back after its summer break, following a busy opening day at Zandvoort which saw Lando Norris top the times while Daniel Ricciardo suffered a broken hand in a crash which has ruled him out of the rest of the Dutch GP.
Ricciardo's injury has given Liam Lawson his F1 debut, stepping into the AlphaTauri from final practice.
Max Verstappen arrived at Zandvoort for his home event with a 125-point championship lead over Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez.
FP3 starts on Saturday at 10:30 BST followed by qualifying at 14:00 BST.
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The top 10 in that Q2 session were Verstappen, Piastri, Albon, Alonso, Leclerc, Russell, Norris, Perez, Sainz and Sargeant. Red Bull, McLaren, Williams and Ferrari both make it through with two cars.
So it is that Stroll, Gasly, Hamilton, Tsunoda and Hulkenberg miss the cut for Q3. Sargeant's first Q3 appearance means this will be his best grid slot yet, the Williams rookie having never bettered 14th to date.
Gasly is another to miss out by a narrow margin - he's P12, just 0.061s down on Sargeant, Hamilton 0.084s adrift in 13th. Wowzers.
Sargeant makes it two Williams in Q3! He beats Stroll by 0.054s to snatch tenth place away from the Aston driver.
A statement lap there from Verstappen, who on fresh inters slaps down a 1m18.856s to go 0.536s quicker than Piastri.
Checkered flag
Leclerc pops up in third, a 1m19.600s, just before the checkered flag comes out. Who can make the difference?
Now Piastri lowers the benchmark to 1m19.392s. What can the rest do on their final runs?
Both are now beaten by Albon's 1m19.399s, with Russell moving into second. The Williams really does have good pace today it seems. Could he be a surprise pole contender?
Perez responds with a 1m20.591s to go second, but Verstappen has shown what the Red Bull can do with a 1m19.652s.
Perez, Tsunoda, Hulkenberg, Gasly and Sainz are the quintet who would miss out were the clocks to stop now. A big final run ahead for them as they seek to break into Q3.
Russell, Piastri and Albon are the fastest drivers in the respective three sectors, but Verstappen is the most consistent across the full lap. That said, he's now just usurped Russell's sector one best and is on course to improve again.
Sainz says the track is drying quickly and has called to have new intermediates ready for the final runs. He's currently languishing in 15th as things stand.
Verstappen doesn't allow Norris to lead the way for long though and wrests back the top spot on 1m20.282s.
Three drivers have now ducked below 81s, with Norris moving to the head of the timesheets ahead of Verstappen and Albon now up into third.
Hamilton had voiced displeasure over the radio at the end of Q1 about Alonso impeding him in the final sector, but the stewards say there's no case to answer in that instance.
Verstappen now gets down to 1m20.690s, over a second quicker than Sargeant in second. Gasly meanwhile goes wide at Turn 3 and kisses the mud on the corner exit, without doing anything as dramatic as Magnussen managed this morning in FP3.
Russell slots into second behind Verstappen, while Albon and Sargeant demonstrate the former's Q1 pace was no fluke in third and fourth for Williams.
Verstappen's opening gambit for the session is a 1m21.921s, just under a second off his best in Q1.
The near-miss earlier on involving Sainz and Piastri will now be investigated after the session, we've been told.
Lights green
Around 20 minutes ago there were clear skies and sunny streaks, but now you wouldn't be surprised if it rained again. Q2 is now underway.
Magnussen's hopes of extending his qualifying session were curtailed by going off at Turn 1 on his final run.
Replays show Leclerc had not one but two hairy moments on what turned out to be his fastest lap. He ran a bit deep into Turn 11, then had a huge slide through Turn 13 that required all of his car control skills to save.
Setting the pace in Q1 was none other than Albon in the Williams. A special moment for him and the Grove team. It won't count for the grid as we'll of course have to go again in Q2 and Q3, but that will give him a certain boost.
So it is Zhou who joins Ocon, Magnussen, Bottas and debutant Lawson in falling at the first hurdle. A tough ask for Lawson to do much more given the lack of preparation, and he ends up 2.481s off the pace.
Ocon and Lawson are out too. But Leclerc just rescues himself and moves up to 14th, bumping Zhou.
Checkered flag
Bottas won't make it, he's 18th and crosses the line as the checkered flags are waved. Who will join him in having an early bath?
Sainz moves up to fifth and out of trouble for now as Leclerc slips into the bottom five. Can he save himself?
Albon meanwhile has gone fastest on a 1m20.939s. He's hooked up today.
Alfa has got both cars out of the danger zone for now, as Sainz, Ocon, Hamilton, Hulkenberg and Lawson find themselves facing elimination from qualifying.
Stroll was the Aston driver in question, and it has been noted by the stewards who will consider if there is a case to answer for impeding.
Now Verstappen goes 0.024s faster to slot into his accustomed position atop the leaderboard. Piastri meanwhile is frustrated as Sainz cuts across his bows exiting the pits, with the McLaren rookie forced to take evasive action over the kerbs. Hamilton too is unhappy at being baulked behind an Aston Martin int he final sector.
There are only three cars below the 1m22s barrier, and both are McLarens! Piastri leads the way on 1m21.254s as it stands.
Ocon, Lawson, Bottas, Magnussen and Sargeant are in the bottom five with a little over six minutes remaining. As it stands, each would drop out of qualifying and miss out on a Q2 berth.
With every lap, the order changes. Piastri now gets down to a 1m22.059s to go fastest from Norris and Albon carving back up to third.
The times are changing faster than we can type. Norris is back at the top with Verstappen now second ahead of Alonso.
Albon has recovered well from his off, and currently sits sixth with the Ferraris of Leclerc and Sainz leading the way. Leclerc through has just overshot Turn 1 and had to rejoin via the runoff.
Verstappen isn't happy over the radio and complains to his engineer about wheelspin. He was joined in making an unplanned Turn 1 excursion by Hulkenberg, while Albon skated through the gravel at Turn 11.
The track is improving all the time as more water is cleared, which explains Sargeant's brief spell atop the times before more drivers come around on a second flyer. Norris heads Piastri and Perez, with Verstappen yet to set a time after a trip through the Turn 1 gravel.
The wheelspin is audible on Russell's Mercedes as he exits the banked Turn 3. Plumes of spray trail his W14 and he logs a 1m30.326s, which is swiftly beaten by a host of other drivers. Piastri tops the times currently.
Lights green
The green light is on and we're go for qualifying at Zandvoort.
By: Autosport Staff
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