The Latest Breaking News from N Hulkenberg

Running opened on the harder two compounds of tyre, and the Mercedes duo emerged on top on the medium Pirelli rubber through the first laps around the undulating beach-side circuit in Zandvoort - George Russell moving ahead of team-mate Lewis Hamilton.

Sergio Perez was fourth in the other Red Bull, nearly half a second slower than Verstappen, with the Ferrari drivers well down the field after eschewing running the soft tyres throughout FP1.

Sergio Perez was fourth in the other Red Bull, nearly half a second slower than Verstappen, with the Ferrari drivers well down the field after eschewing running the soft tyres throughout FP1.

Leclerc will start ahead of Sergio Perez (Red Bull) and Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) after the one-hour qualifying session, which is split into three segments with five cars each being knocked out in Q1 and Q2 before the top 10 shootout of Q3.

Leclerc will start ahead of Sergio Perez (Red Bull) and Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) after the one-hour qualifying session, which is split into three segments with five cars each being knocked out in Q1 and Q2 before the top-10 shootout of Q3.

Verstappen made a better start than poleman Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), who lost further spots to both McLarens. Oscar Piastri profited from hugging the inside of Turn 1, while Lando Norris drove around the outside of Hamilton at Turn 2.

Verstappen made a better start than poleman Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), who lost further spots to both McLarens of Oscar Piastri, who profited from hugging the inside of Turn 1, and Lando Norris, who drove around the outside of him at Turn 2.

Max Verstappen had been unbeaten in qualifying since the Monaco Grand Prix in May, but Hamilton ended that run to secure the first pole of the year for Mercedes by the slender margin of 0.003s.

Hamilton will start ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Lando Norris (McLaren) after the one-hour qualifying session, which is split into three segments with five cars each being knocked out in Q1 and Q2 before the top 10 shootout of Q3.

With the introduction of the alternative tyre allocation for this round, limiting teams from 13 sets of tyres per weekend to 11, the teams attempted to use FP3 as preparation for each phase of qualifying. This yielded all-out times across the full range of compounds, rather than simply bolting on…

With the introduction of the alternative tyre allocation for this round, limiting teams from 13 sets of tyres per weekend to 11, the teams attempted to use FP3 as preparation for each phase of qualifying.