George Russell came back from the summer break in Formula 1 with a statement on Friday at Zandvoort, securing pole position for the Dutch Grand Prix Sprint and leading the way for Mercedes in Saturday’s sprint race.
Russell finished in the final moments of Sprint Qualifying with a lap of 1:11.567, just 0.041 seconds ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris. Charles Leclerc of Ferrari finished third, with less than a tenth of a second between the top four drivers in one of the closest qualifying sessions of the season.
It is Russell’s third Sprint pole of the 2026 season and is a significant moment in the championship battle. The British driver demonstrated that Mercedes still has the pace to challenge at the front as Formula 1 moves into the second half of the season, while teammate Kimi Antonelli is still the drivers’ championship leader.
(Photo by Dom Gibbons/LAT Images)
McLaren again had a chance to be a real threat around the banked corners of Zandvoort. Norris was narrowly beaten for pole by Oscar Piastri, who will begin on the second row.
Antonelli, who led the only practice session earlier in the day, was only able to finish fifth after wrecking the floor of his Mercedes during qualifying. If the Italian championship leader is looking to add more Sprint points to his lead, he will have some work to do.
Full Starting Grid for Dutch GP Sprint
Here is the complete Sprint grid:
- 1. George Russell — Mercedes
- 2. Lando Norris — McLaren
- 3. Charles Leclerc — Ferrari
- 4. Oscar Piastri — McLaren
- 5. Kimi Antonelli — Mercedes
- 6. Max Verstappen — Red Bull
- 7. Lewis Hamilton — Ferrari
- 8. Pierre Gasly — Alpine
- 9. Gabriel Bortoleto — Audi
- 10. Arvid Lindblad — Racing Bulls
- 11. Liam Lawson — Red Bull
- 12. Nico Hulkenberg — Audi
- 13. Oliver Bearman — Haas
- 14. Esteban Ocon — Haas
- 15. Yuki Tsunoda — Racing Bulls
- 16. Lance Stroll — Aston Martin
- 17. Franco Colapinto — Alpine
- 18. Carlos Sainz — Cadillac
- 19. Sergio Perez — Cadillac
- 20. Fernando Alonso — Aston Martin
The Sprint race will be particularly important at Zandvoort, where overtaking is restricted and track position can be a decisive factor. The top four drivers are within a tenth of a second of each other in qualifying, so Saturday’s Sprint may be one of the most competitive short-format races of the season.