Crashes for Williams driver Logan Sargeant and then Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc chewed up the first eight minutes of the 12-minute session, leaving enough time for only one flying lap for the remaining eight drivers.
McLaren teammates Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri had provisionally set the fastest two laps of the session between the red flags, but the damp track dried markedly during the suspensions, effectively wiping the slate clean.
Having complained about a lack of tyre temperature when the track was wet, Verstappen was in his element with sunnier skies warming the circuit, and he blitzed his way to a 0.527-second advantage over the field.
“It was very tricky qualifying,” Verstappen said. “The track surface is quite slippery, the new tarmac.
“It was about putting your laps in and staying out of trouble.
“It was one dry line in some places. We had to risk it a bit, but that last lap was very enjoyable.”
With overtaking difficult around the twisty Zandvoort circuit, Verstappen will be favourite to claim a record-equalling ninth consecutive victory, putting him level with Sebastian Vettel’s successful run in 2013.
Norris was two cars behind Verstappen over the line, but his much-improved McLaren was still no match for the Red Bull Racing car, leaving him half a second adrift.
“I’m happy still,” he said. “P2 is a good result.
“In these kinds of conditions every now and then you hope Max makes a mistake and he doesn’t. But I’m happy anyway. The team did a good job in a chaotic qualifying.”
George Russell was last over the line in the improving conditions and rocketed up to third, less than 0.2 seconds behind Norris.
The Briton was Mercedes’s only representative in Q3, with teammate Lewis Hamilton having been knocked out in Q2 after burning through his tyres in the difficult conditions.
“Really great session,” Russell said. “Quali was one my strengths at the start of the year and it’s just been going a little bit wrong recently.
“We’re in a great place tomorrow to fight for a podium.”
Russell’s last-gasp lap pipped Alex Albon, who will start a sensational fourth for Williams. Albon in turn slipped ahead of Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso, having been just behind the Spaniard on the track.
Carlos Sainz was sixth for Ferrari, while Red Bull Racing’s Sergio Pérez was 1.3 seconds behind his pole-getting teammates in seventh.
Oscar Piastri had briefly looked on track to match teammate Norris in the battle for the front row but ended up more than 0.7 seconds adrift, the Australian putting the gap down to a crash on Friday practice that left him lacking experience with the dry-weather tyres.
Leclerc will start ninth after understeering off the track at turn 5, damaging the left-hand side of his car and risking gearbox damage that could see him slapped with a grid penalty on Sunday.
Williams rookie Logan Sargeant’s first Q3 appearance ended in the barriers after a single lap. The American had just set a time on slick tyres when he entered turn 2 slightly wide and off the dry line. The damp tarmac spat his car off the track at speed and sent him spinning into the barriers, damaging both his front-right corner and the rear of his car.
Assuming the car can be repaired without key component changes, Sargeant will start the race a career-best 10th.
Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll will start 11th ahead of Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, the pair eliminated by less than 0.07 seconds.
But Hamilton, contender for victory at this circuit last year, was the biggest shock elimination in 13th by just 0.084 seconds. The Briton had planned for two fast laps to end Q2 but overheated his intermediate tyres after just one, leaving him unable to capitalise on the improving conditions.
Yuki Tsunoda qualified 14th for AlphaTauri but will start 17th after serving a three-place grid penalty for blocking Hamilton in Q2.
The penalty will promote Haas driver Nico Hülkenberg to 14th ahead of Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu and Alpine’s Esteban Ocon, who bombed out in Q1 after his team opted not to give him a new set of intermediate tyres in the damp conditions.
The freshly re-signed Kevin Magnussen was 18th for Haas, having overshot the first corner on his final lap, ahead of Valtteri Bottas in the second Alfa Romeo.
Liam Lawson, who is replacing Daniel Ricciardo this weekend after the Australian broke his left hand during Friday practice, was last for AlphaTauri, having had one disrupted hour of practice earlier yesterday before entering qualifying.