F1 qualifying LIVE: Hamilton heads for first pole position of the year at Dutch GP

Sebastian Vettel and Daniel Ricciardo are now among the drivers with problems in Q1 – they are 16th and 17th respectively!

Still in the bottom five: Alex Alban, Mick Schumacher and Nicholas Latifi.

Kevin Magnussen is the main danger zone in 15th with Lando Norris and Valtteri Bottas also dangerously close to the bottom five…

Max Verstappen top of the tree at the start with a 1:11:377, followed by the Mercedes of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton.

Meanwhile, Lando Norris is under investigation for a dangerous pit lane drop – narrowly avoiding contact with the oncoming AlphaTauri!

Bottom five right now (16-20): Gasly, Latifi, Alonso, Okon Tsunoda (the last three drivers have not set a time yet…)

18 minutes for all 20 cars to set the fastest possible lap in this first qualifying session – a reminder that the bottom five (16-20) will not make it to Q2.

Beautiful conditions on the Dutch coast ahead of the Orange Army at Zandvoort this afternoon, with three teams seemingly fighting for top spot judging by the three practice sessions we had!

We’re just five minutes away from qualifying starting in Zandvoort this week – who will be in first place at the Dutch Grand Prix tomorrow?

Max Verstappen was in pole position and cruised to a comfortable win in his home race last year, while every driver who finished 1-5 in 2021 finished in that position in the race, making qualifying today crucial!

Either way, the Orange Army will be in full force in North Holland!

Lando Norris has warned Lewis Hamilton that an “unstoppable” Max Verstappen is coming for the British driver’s records. Verstappen heads into his home race at Sunday’s Dutch Grand Prix in Zandvoort with a commanding 93-point title lead as he closes in on his second championship triumph in as many years.

The Dutch driver’s win last time out in Belgium took him to 29 career victories, just three short of Fernando Alonso, which puts him eighth on the all-time list. Hamilton holds the record for most wins (103) and, along with Michael Schumacher, has been crowned world champion seven times.

But Norris believes Verstappen, in his dominant Red Bull machine, can reach 70 wins in two seasons, leaving only Hamilton and Schumacher (91) ahead of a driver who has yet to celebrate his 25th birthday.

“If Max has two seasons like this, he can get another 30 to 40 wins in the next year and a half to two years, and then he’s already up to 70, so it’s very likely (to beat Hamilton’s records).” Norris said.

Fernando Alonso has apologized for calling Lewis Hamilton an “idiot” and retracted his comment that the British driver could only race at the front. Speaking ahead of this weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix, Alonso, 41, said he would now go radio silent to avoid further controversy.

Alonso’s on-air outburst was sparked by a collision on the opening lap of last Sunday’s Belgian Grand Prix. Following Alonso’s comments, Hamilton said he would not speak to the double world champion, adding: “It’s good to know how he feels about me.”

But in an attempt to diffuse the scandal here in Zandvoort, Alpine’s Alonso said: “When we’re in the TV (interview) pen, I’ll go up to Lewis and tell him I’m sorry. Nothing I have said is true and there are facts to the contrary. I have absolutely no problems with Louis. I have enormous respect for him.

“He’s a champion, a legend of our time and when you say something – and I’m sorry to say it again – against a British driver, there’s a huge media presence afterwards.”

Esteban Ocon has revealed he wants Mick Schumacher as his Alpine team-mate next year, but admitted the decision is not in his hands. Fernando Alonso shocked the paddock last month by announcing he would switch to Aston Martin at the end of 2022, leaving Alpine with a race seat to share with Ocon.

The team then announced test driver and 2021 F2 champion Oscar Piastri as Ocon’s team-mate, before the Australian himself denied he had signed a contract to race for Alpine next year, with the matter heard by the Council for the Recognition of Contracts F1 with sentence due on Thursday.

Yet Ocon didn’t hold back when asked who his preferred team-mate would be, citing Haas driver Schumacher, who has impressed in his second F1 season this year.

“My choice would be Mick if he has nothing on his side next year,” Ocon said, sitting next to Schumacher, at the FIA ​​press conference ahead of this weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix.

Michael Schumacher is in “the best of hands” as he continues to recover from his horrific skiing accident, says former Ferrari boss Jean Todt – who revealed he saw the German three times a week on some occasions.

The seven-time Formula One world champion has not been seen in public since suffering a near-fatal brain injury while skiing in December 2013 in Meribel, France. His wife Corina has insisted on protecting Schumacher’s privacy in the eight-and-a-half years since, with his medical condition shrouded in secrecy as he continues to recover at home in Switzerland.

Todd, who has a close relationship with Schumacher’s family, was asked this week about the Ferrari legend and thanked his fans for their continued support, adding that the 53-year-old was “surrounded by people who love him”.

“I’m happy that the fans, not only in Germany, think so highly of him,” Todd told the German outlet Bild. “People ask so much about Michael. Fans should know that he is in the best of hands. In the best situation he can be in and surrounded by people who love him.”

As the weekend’s action began at Zandvoort, F1’s most compelling summer soap opera came to an end with the news that Oscar Piastri had signed for McLaren.

The 2021 F2 champion was in the middle of a contentious match between McLaren and Alpine last month, with the latter’s public announcement that test driver Piastri would race for them next year immediately denied by the Australian himself on social media . However, we finally have our result. Piastri will race for McLaren, signing a “multi-year deal” as Lando Norris’ teammate.

“I am extremely excited to make my Formula 1 debut with such a prestigious team as McLaren and I am very grateful for the opportunity that has been offered to me,” Piastre said in a press release, this time published with his consent.

Although McLaren will be released from its contract with Piastri – signed after the British Grand Prix on July 4 – was deemed valid by F1’s Contract Recognition Board, it is back to the drawing board for Alpine management.