Russell edges Norris for Dutch GP sprint pole at Zandvoort
George Russell took pole for the Dutch Grand Prix sprint race in a closely contested Sprint Qualifying session at Zandvoort. The Mercedes driver beat Lando Norris by 0.041s, with Charles Leclerc and Oscar Piastri also within a tenth of the fastest time.
Russell secured sprint pole for Mercedes with a lap of 1:11.567 in SQ3 at the 2026 Dutch Grand Prix. Norris was second for McLaren on 1:11.608, just 0.041s slower, while Leclerc was third for Ferrari at 0.055s from Russell. Piastri made it a tightly packed top four, with fewer than a tenth of a second covering them.
Russell had not been fastest in either SQ1 or SQ2, but produced his best lap in the final phase to claim pole. Multiple reports described the result as a rebound after he arrived at Zandvoort with low confidence, with Russell also joking that his recent engagement may have helped.
The result put Mercedes on the sprint pole, but some analysis suggested McLaren's performance profile remained a potential threat at Zandvoort. Kimi Antonelli, identified by several outlets as the championship leader, qualified fifth.
In this story
Sources (11)
Summaries are synthesized by F1 Hub from the linked sources. Follow the links above to read the full reporting at each outlet.