Lando Norris takes his second pole position of the season and will lead George Russell and Kimi Antonelli down to turn 1 tomorrow. The full line up is as follows:
Qualifying Results for the Dutch Grand Prix:
| Position | Driver | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Lando Norris | 1:12.695 | 1:11.628 | 1:11.163 |
| 2. | George Russell | 1:12.924 | 1:11.959 | 1:11.265 |
| 3. | Kimi Antonelli | 1:13.022 | 1:11.915 | 1:11.296 |
| 4. | Oscar Piastri | 1:12.610 | 1:11.641 | 1:11.305 |
| 5. | Lewis Hamilton | 1:12.673 | 1:11.970 | 1:11.494 |
| 6. | Charles Leclerc | 1:13.064 | 1:11.910 | 1:11.558 |
| 7. | Max Verstappen | 1:13.290 | 1:11.874 | 1:11.618 |
| 8. | Liam Lawson | 1:13.392 | 1:12.301 | 1:11.733 |
| 9. | Gabriel Bortoleto | 1:13.142 | 1:12.433 | 1:12.079 |
| 10. | Arvid Lindblad | 1:13.074 | 1:12.525 | 1:12.185 |
| 11. | Pierre Gasly | 1:13.115 | 1:12.616 | |
| 12. | Yuki Tsunoda | 1:13.085 | 1:12.627 | |
| 13. | Nico Hulkenberg | 1:13.188 | 1:12.797 | |
| 14. | Franco Colapinto | 1:13.322 | 1:12.800 | |
| 15. | Esteban Ocon | 1:13.544 | 1:13.137 | |
| 16. | Alex Albon | 1:13.552 | 1:13.182 | |
| 17. | Carlos Sainz | 1:13.574 | ||
| 18. | Fernando Alonso | 1:13.650 | ||
| 19. | Lance Stroll | 1:13.818 | ||
| 20. | Oliver Bearman | 1:13.826 | ||
| 21. | Valtteri Bottas | 1:14.371 | ||
| 22. | Sergio Perez | 1:14.600 |
Norris takes pole position ahead of Russell in second and Antonelli in third.
Q1:
Aston Martin will be disappointed to face a double Q1 elimination this weekend as they have been running Honda’s new engine upgrades. The engine seems to have improved massively yet they are still stuck down in 18th and 19th. I’m sure they were looking for a larger improvement than that.
Sainz will also be left disappointed by his Q1 elimination. It was announced this week that he has renewed his contract with Williams through the 2027 season and beyond. He qualified down in P19, which is no way to celebrate a new chapter for the pairing.
Q2:
This session saw some big lockups. Both Hamilton and Russell had big lock ups going into turn 1. Russell managed to back out earlier but Hamilton had gone through the gravel. Hopefully he hadn’t damaged his floor like Antonelli did in SQ3 by going through the gravel and costing him 25 points of downforce.
Tsunoda managed to qualify in P12 in what is his first Grand Prix qualifying session since Abu Dhabi 2025. Although his teammate for the weekend Arvid Lindblad made it through to Q1, Yuki should be proud of his performance as he has not drove this regulation of cars competitively in 2026 up to this point. He has adapted well and has shown some great pace.
Hulkenberg will once again be disappointed. He qualified P13 while his teammate Gabriel Bortoleto went on to Q1.
Q3:
The final session had a major risk of rain. When Russell was sent out he was told rain will fall five minutes from the end, and this prediction was pretty spot on. All drivers had to rush out early to make sure they got dry laps in.
When it came to the final runs the rain was starting to pour but the track was still dry enough. Kimi Antonelli was the first to set his lap time and went to provisional pole, but he was then beat by Norris with an outstanding pole lap. Russell slotted himself in between the pair to take second.
Lando Norris will be happy with pole position. Not only has he claimed his second pole position but he has done it at a track where qualifying position matters greatly. He has won at this track before in 2024 and he will be looking to repeat that in 2026. He may have some concerns about McLaren’s race pace as shown in the sprint, but if he gets a clean start and stays in the clean air degradation might not be as much of a problem for him as it was in the sprint when he was tucked up behind Russell.
Russell will be happy once again with second. He starts on the front row ahead of Antonelli. After winning the sprint race, he is off to a great start in the second half of 2026 so far. The question coming back was ‘can George Russell deliver a title comeback?’ and so far he is giving it a good attempt.
Drivers who will not be as happy include Hamilton, who qualified in P5 with Leclerc behind in P6. Zandvoort was a track tipped to be a good one for Ferrari as it favours their aerodynamic package, however the pace just seems to be lacking. There have been questions about if Lewis can claim his 8th title this season and his charge is not getting off to the same great start as Russell’s.
Verstappen will also likely be dissatisfied with 7th. The Red Bull driver has recently renewed his contract with the team until 2030, yet the team seem to be lacking so much pace this weekend. P6 is genuinely the best he could have delivered, which is a shame as it is his final home race. This weekend, like Sainz and Williams, was not a good way to start the celebrations of a renewed contract. Lawson however must be pleased with P8. He has stepped in for an injured Isack Hadjar and has stuck himself right next to Verstappen on the starting grid. Although Red Bull are lacking pace he has proven he can match Max.
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