Qualifying report
Formula 1 Dutch GP
F1 Dutch GP: George Russell clinches tight sprint pole ahead of Lando Norris
Russell, who is trying to save his F1 2026 title bid, took his third sprint pole of the season at Zandvoort
Edited: Aug 22, 2026, 6:44 AM
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George Russell, Mercedes
Photo by: Bryn Lennon / Formula 1 via Getty Images
George Russell has taken pole position for the Dutch Grand Prix sprint race with Formula 1 championship leader Kimi Antonelli down in fifth.
The Mercedes driver pipped reigning world champion Lando Norris by only 0.041s to take his second sprint pole of the 2026 season after Shanghai at round two.
Russell’s pole came particularly out of the blue after topping neither SQ1 or SQ2 - respectively done by Charles Leclerc and Oscar Piastri - but a 1m11.567s in the final session was enough.
It was a very tight final session too, as third-placed Leclerc was just 0.055s off the pace for Ferrari with Norris’ McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri in fourth and 0.099s behind Russell.
A slightly bigger gap then emerged to Russell’s team-mate Antonelli though, who was 0.227s behind the Briton and suffering floor damage from an off at the penultimate corner in SQ1.
Precisely three tenths behind Antonelli was Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in sixth, one spot ahead of seventh-placed Lewis Hamilton who struggled in the sister Ferrari with a 0.624s gap to Russell.
Charles Leclerc was the lead Ferrari
Photo by: Eric Le Galliot
Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, Audi’s Gabriel Bortoleto and Racing Bulls rookie Arvid Lindblad respectively rounded out the top 10 at Zandvoort ahead of Saturday’s shortened race.
It was a respectable Red Bull return for Liam Lawson, who has replaced the injured Isack Hadjar, as he qualified 11th after being eliminated by his usual team-mate Lindblad.
“I have no idea what happened,” reported the New Zealander, who was four tenths off SQ3, and will share the sixth row with his Racing Bulls stand-in and F1 returnee Yuki Tsunoda.
Franco Colapinto will be on the seventh row in 13th, shared with 14th-placed Nico Hulkenberg, while Esteban Ocon and Alex Albon respectively rounded out the SQ2 drop zone.
In SQ1 a late improvement from Oliver Bearman put him 17th and one spot above Williams man Carlos Sainz, who was pushed into the elimination zone by Bearman’s Haas team-mate Ocon.
Fernando Alonso was 22nd in sprint qualifying
Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Sutton Images via Getty Images
The last four spots were occupied by the usual suspects: Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll in 19th, Cadillac duo Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez 20th and 21st and Fernando Alonso in 22nd.
Alonso particularly struggled as he locked up at Turn 1 and finished last despite a tow from a Cadillac and it was later confirmed that the straight line mode on his rear wing didn’t work.
F1 Dutch GP: Sprint Qualifying results
All Stats
Cla Driver # Chassis Engine Laps Time Interval Tyres km/h 1 G. Russell Mercedes 63
Mercedes Mercedes 17
1'11.567
S 214.238 2 L. Norris McLaren 1
McLaren Mercedes 15
+0.041
1'11.608
0.041 S 214.115 3 C. Leclerc Ferrari 16
Ferrari Ferrari 16
+0.055
1'11.622
0.014 S 214.073 4 O. Piastri McLaren 81
McLaren Mercedes 15
+0.099
1'11.666
0.044 S 213.942 5
A. Kimi Antonelli Mercedes
12 
Mercedes Mercedes 15
+0.227
1'11.794
0.128 S 213.561 6 M. Verstappen Red Bull Racing 3
Red Bull Red Bull 15
+0.527
1'12.094
0.300 S 212.672 7 L. Hamilton Ferrari 44
Ferrari Ferrari 15
+0.624
1'12.191
0.097 S 212.386 8 P. Gasly Alpine 10
Alpine Mercedes 12
+1.011
1'12.578
0.387 S 211.254 9 G. Bortoleto Audi 5
Audi Audi 12
+1.016
1'12.583
0.005 S 211.239 10 A. Lindblad Racing Bulls 41
RB Red Bull 15
+1.170
1'12.737
0.154 S 210.792 View full results
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Formula 1Fernando Alonso: No timeframe on confirming F1 future
Photos from Dutch GP - Friday
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