McLaren team assignments for Dutch GP announced, Norris and Piastri ready to fight

Lando Norris secured pole position at the Dutch Grand Prix on Saturday, setting the stage for a tough battle with teammate Oscar Piastri, who will start from third, with Max Verstappen sandwiched between the two. In the post-qualifying press conference, the drivers announced they were clear for the race.

Qualifying had a lot to offer. In uncertain weather and with the ongoing threat of rain, Nico Hülkenberg was the first to take to the track and set the pace for what would ultimately be a dramatic qualifying session.

Lewis Hamilton's early lead in Q1 could not be maintained, with the seven-time champion only qualifying 12th at the end of the day. The newly upgraded McLarens finished P1 and P2, with Red Bull's Verstappen separating the two.

The session was not without its challenges, with George Russell having significant grip issues. Meanwhile, Logan Sargeant's earlier accident in FP3 impacted Williams' efforts to quickly get his car back in shape, ultimately leading to him not setting a time in qualifying.

Norris, aware of his inconsistent starts in previous races, expressed confidence in his recent efforts to improve.

“I've put in a lot of work to improve my starts a bit. And tomorrow is a new day.” His Australian teammate, however, is ready to strike from the second row.

“If I can get into the lead, that's good for me. But yeah, I mean, I think the start is always a good opportunity to make up ground if you can.

“Of course I want to finish as high up as possible. And yes, if I finish second, it obviously makes life a bit easier for the team. But… I mean, I'm not going to do anything special to achieve that. I want to try to win the race myself. And let's see what I can try and do.”

McLaren's stance on team instructions remains clear and unchanged, focusing above all on clean racing. Piastri underlined this approach:

“The rules are very, very clear and have not changed. And yes, we can compete against each other and try to win.”

“Of course we are fighting for the constructors' championship and we know that there is a lot at stake for the team.

“But we have shown time and again that we can race well and cleanly against each other. And yes, we can both try to win the race. Nothing has changed about that.”

Norris added:

“Oscar said it well. We can race. There were never any rules except that we couldn't collide.”

With both drivers able to challenge each other but at the same time being required to be disciplined, tomorrow's race should be a brilliant Grand Prix for both fans of local hero Max Verstappen and those who wear papaya.