Lando Norris identifies key factor in losing pole to Oscar Piastri

Lando Norris emphasised the role luck played in qualifying for the Dutch Grand Prix after he narrowly missed out on consecutive pole positions at Zandvoort, falling short to Oscar Piastri by just 12 milliseconds.

The McLaren team-mates, locked in a tight battle for their maiden drivers' championships, locked out the front row, resuming the title hunt at a circuit that only the pole sitter has triumphed at since it returned to the F1 calendar in 2021.

However, despite the fine margins by which he lost pole to his championship rival, Norris was not entirely frustrated by the outcome of qualifying.

"Yes and no," he replied to be asked if he was frustrated. "It's been close the whole weekend, so easily could go one way or the other.

"So yeah, I guess a little bit disappointed I'm not on pole, but it's close. Was still some decent laps, so not the end of the world either."

Having topped the timing sheets in each of the three free practice sessions, Norris pinpointed some of the reasons that could have ultimately cost him pole position.

He disagreed when it was put to him that the perfect lap would have been enough to beat his Australian team-mate.

"No, with the wind like this, a lot of it's down to luck as well, even with all the luck I've been having, so it's tough," he said.

"I had a good lap, like Q1 [there was a] smaller headwind down the straight and and I lost like one-hundredth [of a second], so you could easily say it's there, but I'm in a good position.

"We're in a good fight. Oscar's been driving well all weekend. We've been driving well all season. So we'll have some fun tomorrow."

Norris trails Piastri by just nine points in the standings, making every qualifying critical to how the season will ultimately pan out.

Last year, the 25-year-old secured pole at Zandvoort, but lost the lead to Max Verstappen at the first corner, having to overtake the Dutchman en route to his second career victory.

When reminded of that, he played it down, highlighting how both McLarens struggled off the line last season.

"Yeah. I mean, we both had terrible starts last year, so we'll see," the Briton said. "I don't think the inside is a lot better, but it's a long race, a lot of laps, and we'll see what the weather holds for us, too."