“Lewis Hamilton is actually a contender for pole position”- F1 TV analyst predicts a close qualifying at the Dutch GP

F1TV analyst Sam Collins reckons Lewis Hamilton could throw a major upset for the crowd at Zandvoort this weekend by grabbing pole position for the Dutch GP.

Coming in hot from the summer break, the seven-time world champion is at his old rival Max Verstappen's home race. He closely matched the Red Bull driver's lap times during Friday's practice sessions.

Renowned F1 analyst Sam Collins praised Lewis Hamilton's acceleration around the slow corners which are in plenty at Zandvoort. He further added that the Mercedes driver was quick around most sectors of the 2.6-mile (4.3km) circuit. He thus concluded Hamilton would be a contender for the pole position.

“Lewis Hamilton’s car is looking really good under acceleration out of slow-speed corners. It’s actually really quick around a lot of the lap. Less than 1 & a half tenths of a second between predicted pole & third. Hamilton is actually a contender for pole position,” Collins said on F1TV.

In FP1, Hamilton clocked the third fastest time almost four-tenths off the quickest time set by Verstappen. Later in the afternoon, McLaren driver Lando Norris topped the charts in FP2, with Verstappen and Hamilton in fourth within three-tenths of his lap time.

The early predictions from Friday's practice session suggest that Lewis Hamilton will be in contention for his second pole position this season. Similar to the thrilling end of the Hungarian GP qualifying, Hamilton, Norris, and Verstappen are expected to fight for pole position at the Dutch GP.

With track position so important at a track like Zandvoort, qualifying high on the grid will be the priority for the three and the rest of the drivers.

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Lewis Hamilton predicts a "close" qualifying contest with rivals Red Bull

The Mercedes driver also suggested that Red Bull, Mercedes, and McLaren will be closely matched over the weekend. Although he doesn't expect to beat the RB19 he still reckons they will be close behind.

"But we are there or thereabouts. Not as quick as the Red Bulls and the McLarens are really quick," Lewis Hamilton said to Sky Sports.

"The Red Bulls are a little bit quicker as always. I don't necessarily anticipate we will easily beat them, but I think we are going to be close. I want to get up as high as possible. It would be great to be in the top three, it just depends on the job we do tonight."

With the top three teams closely matched on Friday, the Dutch GP is building up to be an exciting race with the chasing pack closer to Red Bull.