– The sprint qualifying at the 2026 Dutch Grand Prix in Zandvoort ended with a small surprise: After McLaren driver Lando Norris’ recent win in Hungary and Kimi Antonelli’s (Mercedes) fastest time in the first session on Friday, it was ultimately George Russell (Mercedes) who took first place with a best time of 1:11.567 minutes.
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Russell, newly engaged and on cloud nine, beat Norris by 0.041 seconds and Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) by 0.055 seconds with his last fast lap of the day. Oscar Piastri (McLaren), who had impressed with the best time in SQ2, finished fourth (+0.099).
World Championship leader Kimi Antonelli seemed confident until SQ1, but he had to abort his first lap on Friday afternoon – and afterwards he somehow couldn’t find his old rhythm. In the end, he finished fifth, 0.227 seconds behind Russell – and ahead of superstars Max Verstappen (Red Bull) and Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari).
Later, Antonelli reported that he had “a few holes in the floor” from his excursion: “When I came to the pits, they told me that costs 25 points of downforce.” However, Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff downplayed this in an interview with Sky: “It was damage to the car, but we were able to repair it.”
Pierre Gasly (Alpine), Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi), and Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls) rounded out the top 10. Nico Hülkenberg (Audi) finished 14th.
On the topic:
Result: Sprint Qualifying Dutch GP
F1 Ticker: Paddock live with Ruben Zimmermann
What does the result mean for the balance of power?
Although Ferrari (floor) and McLaren brought updates to Zandvoort: “Mercedes still has that advantage,” Formula 1 expert Günther Steiner analyzes in an interview with ServusTV. “Kimi crashed this morning. That’s why, I think, he wasn’t quite one hundred percent there. He didn’t want to take a big risk. But George is back now. That’s why they are the favorites.”
It is also clear that the balance of power varies from track to track. Whenever it is particularly twisty, as recently in Hungary, Mercedes’ challengers play to their strengths. Steiner expects a “three-way battle” for the win this weekend: “Leclerc also wants to have a say. Ferraris are usually good at the start. That’s why it will be very interesting. Suddenly there are three manufacturers who can win. They are all close together. Anything can happen.”
Especially in the long-run training on Friday midday, Ferrari left a strong impression. At least that’s what Mercedes team boss Wolff reports: “I think the important topic will be the long run. That looked much stronger for the Ferraris than for everyone else.” And: “Where we really lose is the fast section, Turn 7/8. There we are sometimes 13 km/h slower than Norris. Either it’s because we might be running a bit too low there – or the balance is not quite right.”
SQ1: Scare moment for Antonelli right at the start
The first of the three SQ segments began with a scare moment for the top favorite: Antonelli, fastest in the first free practice, attacked a bit too hard on his first flying lap – and slid off the track in the last sector. Afterwards, he had to come to the pits and do a second run, which he otherwise could have saved.
“I just lost the rear. In a very strange way,” Antonelli commented on his mishap over the radio. At least his car was apparently not damaged, and on the second attempt he improved from zero to seventh place – two tenths behind his teammate, but fast enough to advance to SQ2 (ultimately in eighth position).
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The usual suspects failed to qualify for SQ2: the Cadillac veterans Valtteri Bottas (20th) and Sergio Perez (21st), the two Aston Martins (although Fernando Alonso would hardly have finished last without his excursion on the decisive lap) – as well as a Haas (Oliver Bearman) and a Williams (Carlos Sainz).
Speaking of Alonso: Only after SQ1 did Aston Martin report that the Spaniard could not deploy his rear wing on the straights because the SLM flap system was not working.
Esteban Ocon (Haas), who recently went through a slump, put in a decent lap shortly before the end and secured 14th place in SQ1. He was 0.225 seconds faster than Bearman.
SQ2: Out for the reserve drivers in the Red Bull teams
SQ2 was a demonstration of power by McLaren. Piastri set the best time in 1:12.026 minutes, 0.163 seconds ahead of Norris. Antonelli finished sixth, 0.485 seconds behind. However, the exercise was only to be among the top ten.
Liam Lawson, Red Bull Racing’s reserve for Isack Hadjar, narrowly missed this. The New Zealander was 0.350 seconds slower than Audi driver Bortoleto and finished eleventh. Yuki Tsunoda, in Zandvoort in Lawson’s place at Racing Bulls, was twelfth, 0.360 seconds behind teammate Lindblad. Lawson lost the duel against Verstappen (8th in SQ2) by 0.365 seconds.
Also, Franco Colapinto (13th/Alpine), Nico Hülkenberg (Audi), Ocon, and Alexander Albon (Williams) did not make the cut. Hülkenberg was 0.830 seconds slower than Bortoleto in the direct Audi comparison.
Zandvoort schedule: What’s next?
Zandvoort is the fifth of six sprint weekends in the 2026 Formula 1 season (Here is the complete Formula 1 calendar!). After Friday ends, the next fixed appointment is the F1 sprint. The race starts on Saturday at 12:00 CEST and covers a distance of 24 laps. The winner receives eight World Championship points in the F1 sprint, and the eighth place still gets one point.
The regular qualifying for the Grand Prix takes place on Saturday from 16:00, and the race start on Sunday is scheduled for 15:00. The race weekend will be broadcast on TV on Sky (Germany), ServusTV (Austria), and SRF (Switzerland) (Here is the complete TV overview for Formula 1 in Zandvoort!).
Fans can follow the usual Formula 1 live streams on Saturday and Sunday evenings on the YouTube channel of Formel1.de. With a summary of the events and analyses well beyond the end of the TV broadcasts. After the summer break, host Kevin Scheuren will present the streams again with editor-in-chief Christian Nimmervoll as expert.
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The provisional start time of the live streams is set for 21:00 CEST.
