F1 leader Verstappen takes pole position at Dutch GP for 3rd straight year. Norris is second fastest

Dutch Formula One driver Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing steers his car during the qualifying session ahead of Sunday's Formula One Dutch Grand Prix auto race, at the Zandvoort racetrack, in Zandvoort, Netherlands, Saturday, Aug. 26, 2023. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen produced a typically strong final lap on Saturday to take pole position at the Dutch Grand Prix for the third straight year.

The runaway Formula One leader beat McLaren driver Lando Norris' leading time in qualifying on his way to clocking a 28th career pole. The two-time defending F1 champion will aim for a ninth straight win of the season on Sunday -- to equal former Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel's F1 record from 2013 -- and 11th overall of a crushingly dominant season.

"Ha ha, what a lap!" Verstappen said on radio. "Well done guys."

Verstappen has won the Dutch GP from pole in the past two years, and this time he will start ahead of Norris and Mercedes driver George Russell in third. Williams driver Alex Albon continued his impressive form with fourth place.

Fernando Alonso will start fifth for Aston Martin ahead of Ferrari's Carlos Sainz Jr. and Red Bull's Sergio Perez -- who was more than one second behind his teammate Verstappen -- and McLaren's Oscar Piastri in eighth.

The final part of qualifying, known as Q3, was delayed by two red flags after American driver Logan Sargeant crashed his Williams and Charles Leclerc lost control of his Ferrari after going too wide.

Leclerc starts from ninth with Sargeant 10th on the grid.