Norris lands pole for Dutch GP ahead of Verstappen

McLaren has come out of Formula 1's summer break looking great.

Lando Norris claimed pole position Saturday ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix with a blistering lap of 1:09.673. It's his fourth career pole.

"Amazing day. Nice to be back and start with a pole," Norris said. "I'm excited for tomorrow, I'm sure it's gonna be tough."

After winning the first and only race of his career in Miami this May, Norris finished second four times in eight races.

Max Verstappen, who won the last three races at Zandvoort, will start second, while Oscar Piastri will open on the second row in third.

"The whole qualifying, we just lacked a bit of pace," Verstappen said. "I'm happy with second - after yesterday as well - this is a good result.

"We'll give it a good go (Sunday), but when you're more than three-tenths behind in qualifying, you need to be realistic."

Alex Albon qualified eighth but was later disqualified from the session after the floor of his car was found to be outside the regulatory volume.

Lewis Hamilton, who won two of the final three races prior to the summer break, was eliminated in Q2. The Mercedes driver will start 14th; he received a three-place penalty for impeding Sergio Perez but gained back a position with Albon's disqualification.

Sunday's Dutch GP gets underway at 9 a.m. ET.