Verstappen facing Red Bull 'reality' after Dutch Norris defeat

Max Verstappen feels Red Bull must be "realistic" after Lando Norris handed him a heavy defeat in qualifying for the Dutch Grand Prix. 

Norris pumped in a 1:09.673s late in Q3 to usurp provisional pole-sitter Verstappen, who had climbed above Norris and Oscar Piastri after the first Q3 runs. 

The gap between the two title protagonists was 0.356s in Norris's favour, with the pole being the first time since the Dutch GP returned to the calendar in 2021 that Verstappen has not started in first place.

He still enjoys a 78-point lead over Norris in the standings, but the three-time world champion has been critical of late at the RB20's apparent lack of development - with this caution seeking through after the big defeat to the McLaren driver at Zandvoort.

"It is how it is at the moment, the car is not the easiest to drive, but the lap was quite solid, only in Turns 11 and 12 was it a bit difficult, but hopefully the car is okay in the race," he said.

"We will give it a good go, but of course when you are more than three-tenths behind in qualifying, you have to be realistic. 

"In the whole qualifying, we just lacked a bit of pace and I tried the best I could."

Tough conditions

Conditions at Zandvoort throughout the weekend have been tricky with rain and strong winds and a lack of running after a big crash for Logan Sargeant in FP3 wiped out 40 minutes of running. 

Despite the changeable conditions, Verstappen was still pleased with the result. 

"I'm still very happy to be on the front-row, it was tricky out there with the wind, and the gusts coming in so every single lap felt different," he pointed out.

"You couldn't really go off reference, but I am happy with second, especially after yesterday, it is a good result."