– No, Mercedes also did not manage to secure pole position in Zandvoort. Although George Russell took the sprint pole on Friday, the best starting position for the race on Sunday, as recently in Hungary, belongs to McLaren.
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George Russell and Kimi Antonelli had to settle for second and third positions, which motorsport chief Toto Wolff can live with quite well, even though the gaps of 0.102 and 0.133 seconds were very small.
“Budapest and Zandvoort were not exactly our favorite tracks, and every car has a bit of its own DNA,” the Austrian said on Sky. “But I am quite satisfied with the final result because in Q2 it sometimes looked like we were really far away. Both had small mistakes at the end, but everyone has their own story.”
Indeed, both drivers lament minor mishaps during the session that cost them a possible pole position.
“To be honest, I was on a very strong lap. In turn 8, I then had a slight oversteer, which maybe caused the tires to get a bit too hot, and from there I couldn’t improve anymore,” Russell analyzes.
In fact, Russell was the absolute fastest in the first sector on the decisive Q3 attempt and was virtually two tenths ahead of Norris at times. But after turn 8, the McLaren driver was able to gradually make up time on his compatriot and took the lead at the exit of turn 10.
“Normally, you improve further on such Q3 laps, so I was a bit disappointed because the potential was definitely there,” Russell laments. “The last sector was not good – because of that small mistake, I couldn’t improve there anymore.”
Antonelli too cautious with looming rain
For teammate Antonelli, it was the first sector that was not so clean from his perspective: “When I saw the rain on the visor, I took it a bit too cautiously,” he admits. “That was simply a really weak first sector.” It is also noticeable that, like Russell, he lost most of the time to Norris when accelerating out of turn 10.
F1: Dutch Grand Prix (Zandvoort) 2026
Generally, the championship leader was not entirely satisfied with his car: “To be honest, I struggled with the balance throughout the session. Mainly in sector 3, I had problems in the chicane,” he says. “We then made a few changes and the feeling came back.”
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But the mistake in the first sector possibly cost him first place, as he was already two tenths behind teammate Russell after turn 1. “That’s a shame because I think we had a chance for pole,” he laments. “But we start tomorrow from P3, so everything is still possible.”
Russell feels comfortable again
On the other hand, there is no sign of problems with Russell’s car – quite the opposite. He says he finally felt in Zandvoort like he did at the start of the season: “The car felt great and I was in a good window with it,” he says. “When you have that confidence, you can get that performance out of the car.”
“It’s just about finding that feeling a bit more consistently. The feeling I had this weekend reminds me more of the start of the season and my past years in Formula 1. I’m glad that’s the case and hope it continues. It definitely gives me a lot of confidence because I know the potential is still absolutely there.”
And the fact that after the sprint pole and sprint win he is again in the front row makes him look positively at the weekend and qualifying. “It could be worse,” says Russell.
Strategic advantage for Mercedes on Sunday?
For Sunday, he sees Mercedes in “an excellent position” anyway. Because both Mercedes are right behind Norris, they can put strategic pressure on him. “And I think we probably have a slightly faster race car,” he says.
“As Lando said, they look very strong in the fast corners. But on a track like this with high tire wear, you can’t really fully use this performance in the race because it stresses the tires too much. So I think it will work in our favor,” he sees the advantage on Mercedes’ side.
Generally, one thing is usually decisive: track position. “If he (Russell; ed.) can get forward, we have the necessary long-run pace,” Wolff knows. “But if not, then you’re stuck at first.”
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