OSCAR PIASTRI meant business by securing pole position in qualifying after a fox was spotted on the track at Zandvoort.
It was Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc who spotted the animal in Q2 and said on his team radio: “There was a fox entry of Turn 10. I think he is taking the exit road, though.”
The fox scurried off track unscathed, but that isn’t the first time an animal has disrupted a race weekend, like a lizard in Singapore and a groundhog in Canada last season.
Lewis Hamilton was horrified after hitting a groundhog in Canada this year, while Pierre Gasly killed a rabbit in Imola. Verstappen swerved a groundhog in Canada last year too.
Lando Norris had dominated all weekend but had to settle for second as Piastri pipped him when it mattered most in the other McLaren .
Max Verstappen came third at his home race while Lewis Hamilton finished in seventh behind his teammate Charles Leclerc in sixth.
British driver George Russell had to settle for fifth for Mercedes behind fourth-place rookie Isack Hadjar.
Piastri’s performance fired a huge warning shot to Norris as he came in quicker for the first time of the weekend on the first sector in Q3.
Verstappen was fiery throughout and roared on his team radio: “That’s dangerous from McLaren. F***” as he came up behind a slow moving Norris in Q2 in his last flying lap.
The stewards waved away his complaints though.
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Norris was on fire and became record breaker as he clocked the fastest lap ever at the track with 1:08.874 – two-tenths quicker than Verstappen in Q2.
Lance Stroll’s weekend went from bad to worse after his dramatic crash in Friday’s practice session, as he overcooked it in Q1, clipped the grass at turn 13 and spun into the gravel.
The Canadian Aston Martin driver fumed “f***” on the team radio afterwards as his front wing and tyres were wrecked before limping the car back to the pits and exiting early.
