Oscar Piastri’s surprise pole position at a Dutch Grand Prix weekend dominated by Lando Norris has not only given him a “psychological” advantage, but it’s also potentially moved Norris into a rear-gunner role in the race.

After all, says 1997 World Champion Jacques Villeneuve, McLaren’s advantage wasn’t as big as initially expected, which means the second car on the road may have to “cover” Max Verstappen.

Oscar Piastri’s Dutch GP pole was ‘very important, psychologically’

Claiming the practice session hat-trick around the Zandvoort circuit, Norris went into qualifying as the favourite to claim pole position.

However, when all was said and done, it was Piastri parking behind the number ‘1’ board with his new Zandvoort lap record of 1:08.662, leaving him 0.012s ahead of Norris.

The

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