Mercedes star George Russell: Relief after sprint pole at Zandvoort

George Russell has made a strong return from the summer break: the Mercedes veteran was the fastest in Sprint Qualifying with a time of 1:11.567, securing pole position for the fifth mini-race of the year. His team-mate Kimi Antonelli had to settle for fifth place.

Russell said after the session: “It’s brilliant to be racing here after the break. I really love this circuit; it demands a lot of commitment, and the first half of the season ended on a very tough note. That’s why I’m all the happier to be back here. It’s been a while since I’ve celebrated a success like this, so of course it’s lovely.”

“The lap felt very good, to be honest. It’s never easy in sprint qualifying when you only have one attempt on the soft tyres and track conditions are constantly improving. Ferrari looked very strong, as did McLaren, and I’m glad it all came together in the end when it really mattered,” added the seven-time Grand Prix winner.

“Of course, it’s only sprint qualifying, but it’s good to have built up this momentum; I want to keep it going right through to race Sunday, because that’s when there are big points up for grabs,” Russell added with determination.

How the Sprint Qualifying went

Whilst the first drivers were completing their first SQ1 laps in conditions of 19.6 degrees Celsius outside and 35.1 degrees on track, Isack Hadjar had to settle for the role of spectator in the Racing Bulls pit because he’d injured his wrist during the summer break. The Frenchman was replaced at Red Bull Racing by Liam Lawson, whilst Yuki Tsunoda was given the chance to chase fast lap times in Lawson’s Racing Bulls car – and it didn’t take long for the Japanese driver to set off.

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Zandvoort: Sprintrennen

FIA Formula One World Championship

22.08.2026 - 11:30

The first bit of excitement came from World Championship leader Kimi Antonelli, who drove through the gravel trap at Turn 13 after being caught out by the wind. His Mercedes team-mate George Russell was luckier, taking the lead with a time of 1:13.829 minutes. However, the Briton didn’t hold onto that position for long, as Charles Leclerc was the first to beat the initial best time with a lap of 1:13.229, followed by his Ferrari team-mate Lewis Hamilton, who set a time of 1:13.151.

The seven-time world champion didn’t stay at the top for long either, as Norris edged close to the 1:13 mark with a time of 1:13.071. Oscar Piastri came within 0.55 seconds of Norris’s time, slotting in directly behind his McLaren team-mate. The two team-mates were overtaken moments later, as Leclerc set a new benchmark with a time of 1:13.013.

SQ1 fastest time set by Ferrari star Charles Leclerc

Once everyone had completed their first proper SQ1 lap, the top 10 order was as follows: Leclerc, Norris, Piastri, Hamilton, Russell, Lawson, Antonelli, Gabriel Bortoleto, Max Verstappen and Pierre Gasly, with the Frenchman, unlike his team-mate Franco Colapinto, running with Alpine’s comprehensive upgrade.

Arvid Lindblad, Nico Hülkenberg, Tsunoda, Esteban Ocon, Alex Albon, Colapinto, Ollie Bearman, Carlos Sainz, Lance Stroll, Valtteri Bottas, Sergio Pérez and Fernando Alonso followed in the remaining positions. Leclerc improved his time to 1:13.011 and was thus able to celebrate setting the fastest time in SQ1.

Behind them, Norris, Piastri, Hamilton, Russell, Lawson, Verstappen, Antonelli, Bortoleto and Gasly took the remaining top-10 positions. Lindblad, Hülkenberg, Tsunoda, Ocon, Albon and Colapinto also made it through to SQ2, whilst the qualifying session was over for Bearman (17th), Sainz (18th), Stroll (19th), Bottas (20th), Pérez (P21) and Alonso (P22) came to an end.

Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda out

It didn’t take long for the first drivers to begin setting times in the second Sprint Qualifying segment, with Hülkenberg setting an initial fastest time of 1:13.926. This was immediately beaten, as Ocon completed the 4.259 km circuit in 1:13.893 min.

As more and more lap times appeared on the screen, the Aston Martin team announced that the rear wing on Alonso’s car was not switching to straight-line mode, which explains his significant gap to the leaders. The fact that it was beyond his control is likely to be little consolation for the ambitious two-time world champion...

The SQ2 competitors kept pushing hard and, in the end, last year’s winner Piastri came out on top with a time of 1:12.026. Behind him, Norris, Leclerc, Russell, Hamilton, Antonelli, Gasly, Verstappen, Lindblad and Bortoleto secured the remaining top-10 places and thus qualified for the SQ3. It wasn’t enough for stand-in driver Lawson, who had to settle for eleventh place. Tsunoda, in twelfth place, also missed out on the final segment of the qualifying session, as did Colapinto, Hülkenberg, Ocon and Albon, who finished in 13th to 16th places.

George Russell snatches Sprint pole

In SQ3, it took a while for the first driver to leave the pits. Everyone was waiting for the track conditions to be just right. World Champion Norris finally broke the silence, and several rivals set off right behind him – with just under four minutes left on the clock, nobody wanted to waste any more time.

Bortoleto and Gasly were the only ones to take a gamble and head out onto the track at the last moment. Shortly after the Frenchman had left the pits, Norris crossed the finish line and set about his decisive fast lap.

The Briton completed the lap in 1:11.608. Russell managed to lap the circuit 41 thousandths of a second faster and took the lead, which he did not relinquish as his team-mate was powerless to stop him. This made the 28-year-old the Sprint pole-setter. Behind him, Norris, Leclerc, Piastri, Antonelli, Verstappen, Hamilton, Gasly, Bortoleto and Lindblad took the remaining top-10 positions.