RUSSELL TAKES SPRINT POLE IN ZANDVOORT AHEAD OF NORRIS AND LECLERC
George Russell returned to pole position at Zandvoort as Mercedes took the top spot in the first Sprint qualifying session ever held at the Dutch circuit. Russell set a 1:11.567 to secure first place on the grid for the Sprint Race.
Lando Norris will start alongside Russell on the front row, with Charles Leclerc taking third place. McLaren and Ferrari were strong throughout all three qualifying sessions after bringing new updates to Zandvoort, but Russell produced the fastest final lap when it mattered most.
Oscar Piastri qualified fourth, less than one tenth of a second behind Russell. Kimi Antonelli took fifth place in the second Mercedes, ahead of Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton. Pierre Gasly, Gabriel Bortoleto and Arvid Lindblad completed the top 10.
Antonelli’s qualifying was affected by an incident in SQ1. The Italian went off the track and into the gravel, damaging the floor of his Mercedes. He returned to the circuit later in the session but continued to lose performance because of the damage.
Ferrari also introduced an important update for the Dutch weekend. The team brought a new floor for the SF-26, designed to improve the quality and stability of the aerodynamic load. The new floor was not used during Friday’s only free practice session, but Ferrari fitted it to both cars for Sprint qualifying.
The session took place in much warmer conditions than free practice. The track temperature reached 36°C, while the air temperature was 20°C. The clouds disappeared and the entire qualifying session was held on a dry track.
In SQ1, Antonelli was the first driver to set a time, but his gravel excursion quickly forced him back to the pits. Leclerc, meanwhile, set the fastest time with a 1:13.013, ahead of Norris and Piastri. Hamilton and Russell followed, with Liam Lawson and Verstappen completing the top eight.
Verstappen was also noted for potentially impeding Hamilton during the out-lap, but the stewards decided that no further investigation was necessary. Bearman, Sainz, Stroll, Bottas, Perez and Alonso were eliminated. Alonso also suffered from problems with his Straight Line Mode during the session.
McLaren took control in SQ2, with Piastri setting the fastest time in 1:12.026. Norris was initially five tenths behind his teammate, while Leclerc moved into second place once the Ferrari drivers completed their attempts.
Russell followed Leclerc, with Hamilton and Antonelli behind him. Piastri remained on top at the end of the session, followed by Norris and Leclerc, while Russell, Hamilton and Antonelli completed the top six.
Gasly improved to seventh, while Verstappen finished eighth and Lindblad ninth. Lawson, Tsunoda, Colapinto, Hulkenberg, Ocon and Albon were eliminated and failed to reach the final session.
For SQ3, all remaining drivers switched to soft tyres after using used medium tyres earlier in qualifying. Norris set the first benchmark, but Russell quickly moved ahead with his final attempt.
Leclerc was only 55 thousandths behind Russell after his first lap, keeping Ferrari close to the Mercedes. However, neither Antonelli, Verstappen nor Hamilton could beat the top three.
Hamilton struggled with oversteer on the exit of Turn 1 and could only take seventh place. Leclerc also lost some engine performance between the final corner and the finish line, which cost him time on his final run.
Russell eventually set a 1:11.567 to take Sprint pole. Norris finished second and Leclerc third, with both drivers less than one tenth behind the Mercedes.
The result gives Russell the best possible starting position for the first Sprint Race at Zandvoort, while McLaren and Ferrari have shown that their latest updates can put them close to Mercedes.
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