Oscar Piastri beats McLaren teammate Lando Norris to end his wait for pole at F1's Dutch GP

ZANDVOORT, Netherlands (AP) — Oscar Piastri found new pace to beat his teammate Lando Norris by just over one-hundredth of a second and take Formula 1 pole position for the first time in three months at the Dutch Grand Prix in qualifying on Saturday.

Piastri set the pace at the start of the final part of qualifying for Sunday's race and Norris couldn't quite match it, ending up .012 of a second off the pace as the title battle between the two McLaren teammates intensifies.

“That was the definition of peaking at the right time," Piastri said. “It was looking like a little bit of a tricky weekend so far, so to come out with that, I’m pretty stoked.”

It was the Australian’s fifth pole position of the year but his first since the Spanish Grand Prix, six races ago.

Norris, who won last year's Dutch Grand Prix and was fastest in all three practice sessions this week, said it was “not the end of the world” to start second, and suggested small changes in the wind could have decided the result.

Piastri leads Norris by nine points in the standings with 10 races left of the season. Norris has closed the gap in recent months with wins in three of the last four races, but said he'd need something special to get past Piastri at Zandvoort, which is among the harder tracks for overtaking.

"It’s going to take some magic, some good strategy or incredible tire saving or something,” he said.

“It’s normally pretty difficult to overtake in the first place. It’s even harder to do that behind your teammate. So, I’ll see what I can dream of tonight.”

Defending champion Max Verstappen is set to start third for his home race. He's third in the standings but a 97-point gap to Piastri means his title chances are remote.

Verstappen said it was “always very special” to compete in front of his home crowd and he was pleased with the improvement after a “tricky” time in practice.

“This is a really good step forward," he said. "I hope that we can keep that up also going into the race tomorrow.”

Isack Hadjar was a surprise fourth for Racing Bulls in a career-best qualifying result for the French rookie, who is considered a contender for promotion to Red Bull next season as Verstappen’s teammate.

George Russell is fifth for Mercedes, while Charles Leclerc in sixth again out-qualified his Ferrari teammate Lewis Hamilton, who was seventh.

It’s going to be another difficult race for Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli after he qualified 11th. The Italian started his debut season strongly but has only been in the points in two of his last eight races.

Yuki Tsunoda was 12th in a result that doesn’t help his efforts to show he can stay on for next season at Red Bull.

Lance Stroll spun and crashed heavily into the barriers after getting two wheels on the grass. The Canadian was able to return his damaged Aston Martin to the pits but couldn’t continue and qualified last.

AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

McLaren driver Lando Norris of Britain, right, talks to McLaren driver Oscar Piastri of Australia after the qualifying session ahead of the Formula One Dutch Grand Prix at the Zandvoort racetrack in Zandvoort, Netherlands, Saturday, Aug. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Patrick Post)

McLaren driver Oscar Piastri of Australia in action during the qualifying for the Formula One Dutch Grand Prix in Zandvoort, Netherlands, Saturday, Aug. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

McLaren driver Oscar Piastri of Australia celebrates his pole position after the qualifying session ahead of the Formula One Dutch Grand Prix at the Zandvoort racetrack in Zandvoort, Netherlands, Saturday, Aug. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Patrick Post)

McLaren driver Oscar Piastri of Australia steers his car during the qualifying session ahead of the Formula One Dutch Grand Prix at the Zandvoort racetrack in Zandvoort, Netherlands, Saturday, Aug. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Patrick Post, Pool)

McLaren driver Oscar Piastri of Australia in action during the qualifying for the Formula One Dutch Grand Prix in Zandvoort, Netherlands, Saturday, Aug. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

MIAMI (AP) — Anfernee Simons scored 18 of his season-high 39 points in the fourth quarter, Jaylen Brown added 27 and the Boston Celtics trailed most of the way before rallying to beat the Miami Heat 119-114 on Thursday night.

Sam Hauser added 17 points for the Celtics, who outscored Miami 36-21 in the fourth quarter and won after facing as much as a 19-point deficit. It was their second-biggest comeback win of the season, after coming from 20 down to beat Indiana on Dec. 22.

Simons had the second highest-scoring game for a reserve this season — Utah's Brice Sensabaugh had 43 on Wednesday night in a loss to Chicago — and became the fourth Celtics player in the last 50 years to score at least 39 off the bench. The others: Larry Bird, Todd Day and Payton Pritchard.

Norman Powell scored 26 points for Miami, which got 22 points apiece from Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro. Andrew Wiggins added 16 for the Heat.

Simons had 11 consecutive Boston points in the fourth quarter to chip away at what was left of the Miami edge, and then Hauser got an open 3-pointer with 5:21 left to give the Celtics their first lead since the opening minute of the game.

The lead changed hands twice more, before Brown's 3-pointer with 4:05 remaining put Boston on top for good.

Miami started the game on a 28-9 run, putting the Celtics in a most unusual early position.

That 19-point margin — only about seven minutes into the game — matched the biggest first-quarter deficit the Celtics faced in a 304-game span since trailing Indiana by 20 early on in a game on Dec. 21, 2022. Boston also trailed Milwaukee by 19 in the first quarter on April 9, 2024.

The Heat played without starting point guard Davion Mitchell (left shoulder contusion) and sixth man Jaime Jaquez Jr. (left knee soreness).

Celtics: At Atlanta on Saturday night.

Heat: Host Oklahoma City on Saturday night.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA

Boston Celtics guard Anfernee Simons, center, is defended by Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo (13) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Boston Celtics guard Anfernee Simons (4) comes under pressure from Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo (13) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Boston Celtics guard Anfernee Simons (4) goes for the basket defended by Miami Heat center Kel'el Ware, obscured, during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Miami Heat guard Norman Powell (24) reacts after making a shot during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Boston Celtics, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra watches from courtside during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Boston Celtics, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)