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Lando Norris indicated that he is not looking to convert his pole position into victory at the Dutch Grand Prix on Sunday.

The 24-year-old Briton reminded Max Verstappen of his qualifying chances with a brilliant lap at Zandvoort, putting him 0.356 seconds ahead of his Red Bull rival.

Norris’ speed on the coast was underlined by his half-second lead over Oscar Piastri in the other McLaren, who starts from third place for Sunday’s 72-lap race.

Verstappen temporarily pushed Norris off the top amid loud cheers, but Norris dethroned the home-grown favourite – who had taken three poles and three wins since the sport returned to the Netherlands in 2021.

Norris is 78 points behind Verstappen in the championship and could have been closer if the driver and team had not made a number of mistakes.

However, Norris said: “I work hard to win and I want to win, but I’m not desperate because desperation leads nowhere.

“I’ve been working hard and the little bits are paying off, but tomorrow is the best day to show that.”

The McLaren driver’s title fight has been derailed by poor starts. Norris’ latest mistake came in Belgium when he plunged his McLaren into the gravel exiting the opening corner, dropping three positions.

Before that he had already lost to both Piastri and Verstappen, after starting from first place in Budapest.

And before that in Spain he was overtaken by George Russell and Verstappen on the way to the first corner. Norris has not finished the opening lap as the leader in the previous three times he started from pole.

“I know my starts haven’t been my strongest point,” he added. “You gain respect with statistics, but you also lose respect with statistics. Numbers on a screen don’t mean much to me. I care about them, but they don’t impact me.

“I know I went backwards instead of maintaining my position, but I worked hard and I am working hard to change that and tomorrow is a new day.

“I’m not going to just say people are wrong. I’m just going to keep doing what I’m doing.”

Norris’ missed chances have raised questions about his temperament in the title race, with him admitting earlier this week that he has not been riding at the level required to win the title.

His comments led to team boss Andrea Stella insisting his star player is world championship material. Verstappen, who was sitting next to Norris, also offered his support.

“Lando is very, very fast,” said the Dutchman. “That is why he is in Formula 1 and is performing at the level he is at now.

“It will only get better with experience. I’ve been fighting for world championships longer than he has, but when the team works well and you ride well, it just comes to you. I’ve never doubted him.”

Mercedes’ George Russell was fourth while Lewis Hamilton had an afternoon to forget after failing to survive Q2. Hamilton will start from 12th.

The seven-time world champion went into the summer break with his second win from three races after Russell was disqualified in Belgium.

But he finished here four tenths behind his teammate, which dropped him far down the rankings.

It was the second year in a row that Hamilton was eliminated in Q2 at Zandvoort and the first time since China – a 10-race streak – that he failed to reach Q3.

“It was a pretty shocking session,” Hamilton said. “What can I say? It doesn’t feel good.”

Elsewhere, American driver Logan Sargeant was sidelined after a heavy crash during final practice.

Sargeant lost control in the banked third corner, bouncing off the barrier and back onto the track, with the 23-year-old’s car then dramatically catching fire.

Sargeant bailed out of his burning machine before it fell over the barriers. He was taken to the medical centre for precautionary checks and given the all-clear. However, Williams were unable to repair his car in time.