As expected, McLaren locked out the front row for Formula 1's Dutch Grand Prix. The outcome was, however, slightly surprising in two ways.
Firstly, Oscar Piastri struck when it mattered most, despite Lando Norris having had the edge in all practice sessions. Secondly, the gap to Max Verstappen was significantly smaller than anticipated after FP3. During that final practice session, McLaren had pulled nearly a second clear of the entire field, but in qualifying Verstappen managed to cut the margin down considerably.
