A chaotic Qualifying session at Zandvoort with rain heavily impacting the session which saw surprise knockouts in Q1 and Q2 including Lewis Hamilton in his Mercedes.

Qualifying 1

Q1 (Qualifying 1) started off damp with the teams and drivers opting for the intermediate tyres. The rain had stopped but left a very wet track which saw the Formula 2 race 1 hour prior to the Formula 1 qualifying session abandoned due to the weather.

Many drivers went off the track at the start of the session with the likes of Albon, Hulkenberg, and Verstappen all finding the gravel on their first laps. Both Aston Martin drivers impeded Lewis Hamilton in the first part of qualifying and only just made it through to Qualifying 2. Charles Leclerc was another front-runner who just escaped the bottom 5 as he made it through in P14. Alex Albon ended the session fastest for Williams.

The 5 drivers eliminated were Liam Lawson in 20th, Valtteri Bottas in 19th, Kevin Magnussen in 18th, Esteban Ocon in 17th, and Zhou Guanyu in 16th.

Qualifying 2

Q2 (Qualifying 2) also began on the intermediate tyres as the track hadn't dried enough for the slick tyres. The surprise of the session was Lewis Hamilton being knocked out after qualifying 13th and claimed he was impeded by Yuki Tsunoda on his fastest lap. Both Williams drivers made Q3 as Logan Sargeant made a Q3 session for the first time in his Formula 1 career. Max Verstappen ended the session fastest.

The 5 drivers eliminated were Nico Hulkenberg in 15th, Yuki Tsunoda in 14th, Lewis Hamilton in 13th, Pierre Gasly in 12th, and Lance Stroll in 11th.

Qualifying 3

Q3 (Qualifying 3) saw DRS enabled for the first time in the qualifying session and the first driver on softs as most went out on intermediate tyres, George Russell exited the pit lane on a set of slick soft tyres which everyone quickly followed. However just as everyone was on their first laps, Logan Sargeant lost his car at turn 2 destroying his Williams car. This resulted in a lengthy delay of 20 minutes for barrier repairs.

When the session resumed, the track had dried even more but it wasn't long before another driver found the barriers as Charles Leclerc crashed his Ferrari at turn 9 bringing out a second red flag. After the Ferrari had been cleared, the 8 remaining drivers would have 1 lap to decide the grid and this was the final top 10 qualifying result:

1. Max Verstappen

2. Lando Norris

3. George Russell

4. Alexander Albon

5. Fernando Alonso

6. Carlos Sainz

7. Sergio Perez

8. Oscar Piastri

9. Charles Leclerc

10. Logan Sargeant