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George Russell Claims Zandvoort Sprint Pole Position

Answer
Confirmed

George Russell took Sprint pole at Zandvoort with 1:11.567, leading Lando Norris, Charles Leclerc, and Oscar Piastri across a tightly contested top four separated by less than a tenth of a second. Kimi Antonelli crashed in SQ1 but qualified fifth. Max Verstappen finished sixth.

Sprint Pole: Russell's Summer Return

George Russell secured pole position with a lap time of 1m 11.567s at Circuit Zandvoort, delivering Mercedes a timely boost after the summer break. [1] Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc completed the top three, with Oscar Piastri only fractionally further behind in fourth place . [1] This sets the grid for Saturday's Sprint race, not Sunday's Grand Prix; the main race will run Sunday after another qualifying session on Saturday evening.

Top Ten and Gaps

The Sprint Qualifying classification shows Russell in first (1:11.567), Norris +0.041s second, Leclerc +0.055s third, Piastri +0.099s fourth, Kimi Antonelli +0.227s fifth, Max Verstappen +0.527s sixth, Lewis Hamilton +0.624s seventh, Pierre Gasly +1.011s eighth, Gabriel Bortoleto +1.016s ninth, and Arvid Lindblad +1.170s tenth . [4]

SQ1 and SQ2 Story: Antonelli's Gravel Escapade

Kimi Antonelli pushed too hard on his first flying lap and rattled over the gravel, forcing him to abandon the attempt and dive back into the pits . [1] He endured a difficult session as he slid off the road and into the gravel during SQ1, and could only muster fifth place on his final attempt . [2]

The mistake cost him dearly for pole contention but did not cost him his SQ3 slot. Oscar Piastri led a McLaren one-two from Lando Norris in SQ2 during Sprint Qualifying for the Dutch Grand Prix Sprint . [5] McLaren elected to stay out and claim a 1-2 on the timesheets, with Gasly, Verstappen, Lindblad and Bortoleto squeezing into SQ3 behind the top three teams . [1]

Lawson and Tsunoda were eliminated with Colapinto, Hulkenberg, Ocon and Albon . [1]

SQ3: The Shootout

Piastri, Norris, Leclerc, Russell, Hamilton, Antonelli, Gasly, Verstappen, Lindblad, and Bortoleto contested SQ3 . [1] Russell's final lap proved decisive; Russell prevailed with a lap time of 1m 11.567s, enough to edge out Norris and Leclerc . [1] No red flags or major incidents marred the session; Antonelli's SQ1 slide was the only noteworthy moment. All ten cars completed flying laps in the eight-minute finale.

Related reading

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article/russell-charges-to-pole-position-in-dutch-grand-prix-sprint-qualifying-ahead-of-norris.4agXz49Klz5hEljnOkKRwa https://racingnews365.com/2026-f1-dutch-grand-prix-zandvoort-sprint-qualifying-results https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/f1-2026-dutch-gp-sprint-qualifying-results/ https://www.planetf1.com/news/f1-results-2026-dutch-grand-prix-zandvoort-sprint-qualifying

Sources
  1. [1]Russell charges to pole position in Dutch Grand Prix Sprint Qualifying ahead of Norris (formula1). Accessed 2026-08-21.
  2. [2]2026 F1 Dutch Grand Prix - Zandvoort Sprint Qualifying results (racingnews365). Accessed 2026-08-21.
  3. [3]F1 Sprint Qualifying Results Today: 2026 Dutch Grand Prix times and positions (gpfans). Accessed 2026-08-21.
  4. [4]F1 2026 Dutch GP sprint qualifying results (the-race). Accessed 2026-08-21.
  5. [5]George Russell takes Dutch GP Sprint pole ahead of Lando Norris (planetf1). Accessed 2026-08-21.
Published 21 Aug 2026