GEORGE RUSSELL WINS SPRINT RACE AT ZANDVOORT
George Russell won the first Sprint Race ever held at Zandvoort, taking victory from pole position after leading the race from start to finish. The Mercedes driver controlled the pace throughout the 18-lap race and never looked seriously threatened.
Charles Leclerc finished second after making his soft tyres work well in the final part of the race. The Ferrari driver started third and was able to pass Lando Norris late in the race, with the McLaren driver struggling for rear grip.
Norris still managed to finish third after keeping Kimi Antonelli behind him. The Italian Mercedes driver tried to attack in the final laps and even got alongside Norris, but he could not complete the pass.
Oscar Piastri finished fifth, ahead of Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton. Pierre Gasly took the final points-paying position in eighth.
The weather was uncertain before the start, with a 20% chance of rain. The track was wet and slippery during the formation lap, while strong winds made conditions even more difficult. However, no rain arrived during the race.
Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz started from the pit lane after their teams made changes to their car setups. Aston Martin also confirmed that it had fixed the rear wing problem that affected Alonso during Sprint qualifying.
Most drivers started on used medium tyres, while Leclerc and Oliver Bearman were the only drivers in the field to use used soft tyres.
At the start, Russell kept the lead while Antonelli made a strong launch and passed Piastri for fourth place at Turn 2. Leclerc remained third but immediately had to defend from his Mercedes rival.
Russell soon opened a gap of more than one second to Norris, but the McLaren driver started to close in and set the fastest lap with a 1:14.881. Behind them, Verstappen stayed close to Piastri, while Gasly defended eighth place from Gabriel Bortoleto.
Nico Hulkenberg was forced to retire his Audi because of an issue with the car. Meanwhile, Norris began to struggle with his rear tyres after the halfway point of the race and lost his Overtake Mode advantage over Russell.
Leclerc then moved closer to Norris and opened his rear wing, but initially could not find a way past. Verstappen also continued to put pressure on Piastri, while Hamilton became increasingly fast in the final stages and closed the gap to Verstappen.
On lap 18, Leclerc finally made his move. With Overtake Mode active, the Ferrari driver went down the inside before Turn 1 and passed Norris for second place.
Norris was now under pressure from Antonelli, who was less than a second behind. However, the McLaren driver managed to defend third place until the chequered flag.
Some drivers were warned about possible rain with four laps remaining, but the rain never became a factor. Russell crossed the finish line first to take a comfortable Sprint victory, with Leclerc second and Norris third.
Antonelli finished fourth, followed by Piastri, Verstappen, Hamilton and Gasly. Russell therefore takes the first Sprint win at Zandvoort, while Leclerc and Ferrari leave the short race with a strong second-place result.
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