Sprint qualifying in Zandvoort has concluded. George Russell claims sprint pole and leads Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc at the front of the grid tomorrow morning. The full list of timings is below.
Dutch Sprint Qualifying Results:
| Position | DRIVER | SQ1 | SQ2 | SQ3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | George Russell | 1:13.278 | 1:12.235 | 1:11.567 |
| 2 | Lando Norris | 1:13.071 | 1:12.189 | 1:11.608 |
| 3 | Charles Leclerc | 1:13.011 | 1:12.190 | 1:11.622 |
| 4 | Oscar Piastri | 1:13.126 | 1:12.026 | 1:11.666 |
| 5 | Kimi Antonelli | 1:13.668 | 1:12.511 | 1:11.794 |
| 6 | Max Verstappen | 1:13.585 | 1:12.771 | 1:12.094 |
| 7 | Lewis Hamilton | 1:13.151 | 1:12.445 | 1:12.191 |
| 8 | Pierre Gasly | 1:13.977 | 1:12.720 | 1:12.578 |
| 9 | Gabriel Bortoleto | 1:13.730 | 1:12.786 | 1:12.583 |
| 10 | Arvid Lindblad | 1:14.057 | 1:11.785 | 1:12.737 |
| 11 | Liam Lawson | 1:13.420 | 1:13.136 | |
| 12 | Yuki Tsunoda | 1:14.490 | 1:13.145 | |
| 13 | Franco Colapinto | 1:14.618 | 1:13.439 | |
| 14 | Nico Hulkenberg | 1:14.284 | 1:13.616 | |
| 15 | Esteban Ocon | 1:14.503 | 1:13.893 | |
| 16 | Alexander Albon | 1:14.596 | 1:14.294 | |
| 17 | Oliver Bearman | 1:14.728 | ||
| 18 | Carlos Sainz | 1:14.738 | ||
| 19 | Lance Stroll | 1:15.391 | ||
| 20 | Valtteri Bottas | 1:15.472 | ||
| 21 | Sergio Perez | 1:15.545 | ||
| 22 | Fernando Alonso | 1:16.014 |
Full sprint qualifying table. Drivers without a time in SQ2 or SQ3 were eliminated.
SQ1:
This session was by far the busiest and led to a lot of traffic out on track. During the opening laps, Oliver Bearman moved out of the way for Kimi Antonelli coming out of the pitlane only to kick up a bunch of dust which gives us an insight into the grippiness of the track. Later on an investigation went in for impeding between Ocon and Perez which resulted in no further investigation.
In terms of lap times most were in the 1:13-1:14 range. This session saw Oscar Piastri find some pace after being significantly slower than his teammate Norris, the Ferrari’s and the Mercedes drivers.
There were some nerve wracking moments for the drivers. For example early on in the session Kimi Antonelli was trying to set a banker lap but a gust of tailwind unsteadied his rear and threw him off into the gravel trap. He was lucky to save it and not go into the wall or get beached. Mercedes reported back that they do not think there was any damage but given how his pace seemed to lag behind the front runners after, he could be suffering from some floor damage as a result. Kimi managed to get back out on track and sail through SQ1 comfortably.
The same can not be said for Fernando Also who also experienced some struggles. When on a flying lap he suffered from a massive lock up going into turn 1, leaving him to finish the session with a massive flat spot. He could not improve his time and ended up qualifying and being knocked out in P22, a disappointing result for Aston Martin who have received an upgraded engine from Honda this weekend.
All the drivers out in SQ1 – BEARMAN, SAINZ, STROLL, BOTTAS, PEREZ, ALONSO
SQ2:
A tailwind was identified on entry to turn 11, which could’ve also been affecting turn 13 (where Antonelli went off in the previous session). Many drivers were having problems as a result in the final sector.
The Mclaren’s really started to show their pace in this session, not that we should be surprised as Norris and Piastri have both won here (2024 and 2025 respectively).
Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda were both eliminated in SQ2 in P11 and P12. This may seem like a disappointing result for them, but considering they both got the call to step into new cars on such short notice and only had one practice session to get up to speed, they have both done an incredible job.
One driver who I think will be rightfully disappointed is Nico Hulkenberg. His pace in free practice was strong, while everyone was on softs and he was on mediums he managed to claim P4 for a little so qualifying down in P14 probably is not what he was expecting.
Out in SQ2 – LAWSON, TSUNODA, COLAPINTO, HULKENBERG, OCON, ALBON
SQ3:
The fun begins in sprint qualifying three and the soft tires go on and we some much quicker times. Out of the gate Norris seemed to be flying but he got narrowly beat to pole position by George Russell with a stonker of a lap. Leclerc and Piastri were fast but not fast enough to challenge for the front row. Antonelli seemed to be lacking pace, hence why I think he might be carrying some floor damage considering he has seemed rapid so far this weekend. Max Verstappen shockingly qualifies in 6th, which that is not where he wants to be during his final home race. Hopefully for the Grand Prix Red Bull can find some time.
Lewis Hamilton’s pace seemed to drop off. He qualifies in P7 after seeming like one of the main challengers for pole position.
Gasly, Bortoleto and Lindblad round off the top ten and they should all be pleased with their qualifying positions given the cars they are up against in SQ3.
Russell tops the first qualifying session back from summer shutdown.
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