Russell takes Dutch GP sprint pole as Antonelli struggles to fifth

Welcome to our live coverage for sprint qualifying for the 2026 Dutch Grand Prix from Zandvoort. This is the last time the race will be on the F1 calendar for the foreseeable future, having been reintroduced in 2021 after a 35-year absence. It will be a shame to see it leave again, but never rule out it coming back, especially with Max Verstappen signing a lengthy contract extension with Red Bull. 

What of the competitive action this weekend? As it is a sprint weekend, there is not a lot of preparation time, with just one practice session before sprint qualifying. In that it was a fairly close fight at the top, and it was Kimi Antonelli, the championship leader, who was fastest of all. Behind him was the McLaren of Lando Norris who was 0.121sec adrift then George Russell, who will be looking to kickstart his title campaign here, a further 0.004sec behind him. 

Then came the two Ferraris of Lewis Hamilton (0.190sec) and Charles Leclerc (0.289sec) before a fairly significant gap of 0.659sec to Oscar Piastri in sixth. Verstappen was down in 11th, nearly 1.4sec off Antonelli’s ultimate pace but 0.5sec or so ahead of new (and old) team-mate for the weekend, Liam Lawson. 

It was a tricky session for the drivers, though, as it began damp on a showery and blustery day by the Dutch seaside. Several drivers ran wide and off the track, though they all avoided anything more serious than gravel rash. The rest of the day looks to be drier but there are still a few showers around and the wind is all over the place, as it often is here. 

Sprint qualifying starts at 3.30pm BST and we will be here for all of the updates for the nearly hour-long session.