15:59
Just a few seconds remain in SQ2.
Carlos Sainz Williams
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F1 Zandvoort LIVE: Reaction after Russell takes Dutch GP sprint pole
Live coverage of Friday at the F1 Dutch Grand Prix
KEY MOMENTS
- Hadjar out injured; Lawson in at Red Bull, Tsunoda at Racing Bulls
- Antonelli tops close-fought FP1
- Threat of rain for sprint qualifying
Zandvoort makes its final F1 bow this weekend after hosting the sixth race of its comeback stint on the calendar. Max Verstappen has previously taken two wins on home soil, while Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri have shared the other two victories to date.
As F1 returns from its summer break, there are limited upgrades on display, with Aston Martin and Alpine attracting the most attention. The former is due to the power unit upgrade being brought by Honda. Although early indications suggested a power boost of between 30-50bhp, expectations have been cooled ahead of the weekend, suggesting the benefit may not be as impactful as had been hoped.
Alpine, however, has brought an eight-part aerodynamic upgrade. Given how powerful this type of upgrade has proven to be across the season, Alpine will hope that this could push the team back ahead of Racing Bulls and into firm points contention.
A wrist injury to Red Bull driver Isack Hadjar has seen a switch of drivers at both the front-running team and Racing Bulls, with Liam Lawson moving up to replace the Frenchman, whilst veteran Yuki Tsunoda has been drafted in to partner Arvid Lindblad.
The weekend is the fifth Sprint event of the season, meaning that Friday will see a single practice session before sprint qualifying in the afternoon. The sprint race will begin the action on Saturday, before normal service resumes with regular qualifying, and then the grand prix on Sunday.
Rain is expected to play a part this weekend, with a chance of wet running on both Friday and Saturday.
2026 Dutch Grand Prix Friday schedule
FP1 11:30am BST - 12:30pm BST
Sprint Qualifying: 3:30pm BST - 4:14pm BST
21 Aug 2026
15:59
Coming to the end of his opening lap, Bortoleto goes to eighth, pushing down Audi team-mate Hulkenberg, while the Racing Bulls drivers do a double warm-up plan before beginning their efforts.
15:57
Russell and Antonelli cross the line and go third and fifth.
The top 10 so far are:
- Piastri
- Leclerc
- Russell
- Hamilton
- Antonelli
- Norris
- Verstappen
- Lawson
- Colapinto
- Ocon
15:55
Piastri goes even faster by half a second over Norris! His 1m12.026s is a new session best, which also bests the Ferrari pair of Leclerc and Hamilton, who go second and third.
15:54
Norris will be the first heavy hitter to put in a time. He crosses the line and it's a 1m12.514s. That's an improvement of half-a-second from SQ1.
15:52
A strong opening lap for Ocon with a 1m13.893s. That's a significant improvement on his SQ1 effort.
Hulkenberg is slower, despite improving by three tenths himself.
15:52
All of the good work in Hungary appears to have gone down the drain for Aston Martin. Back to the back of the grid.
15:50
Green light for SQ2
We go again. As is the nature of sprint qualifying, things all happen rather swiftly.
Hulkenberg, Ocon and Albon hit the track immediately.
15:46
Out in SQ1
Starting at the back of the grid will be:
17. Bearman
18. Sainz
19. Stroll
20. Bottas
21. Perez
22. Alonso
15:43
SQ1 chequered flag
The flag falls and Bearman is out. He improves past Sainz, but it wasn't enough. Stroll, Bottas and Alonso are out.
Perez is improving, but it is enough only to push Alonso to the back of the grid.
15:41
Oh dear. Aston Martin is back to its old tricks. Stroll goes to P18 and Alonso is P21.
15:41
Ocon, Stroll, Bearman, Bottas, Perez, and Alonso are in the bottom six. Alonso is without a meaningful time, after sliding into the gravel at Turn 1 on his previous attempt.
Less than 90s remain.
15:40
Leclerc now ruins the pattern at the front with a session-best effort of 1m13.013s.
At the same time, Antonelli puts in a 1m13.668s to go seventh, and all but guarantee his place in SQ2.
15:38
While looking at the lower end of the order, Piastri has gone second, creating a two-by-two order for McLaren and Ferrari.
In fifth is Bortoleto for Audi, reinforcing the pace shown in FP1 earlier.
15:37
Perez and Ocon have both been noted for impeding - this will happen a lot more! - and Norris moves to the top with a 1m13.071s.
At the foot of the order are drivers without times, and Antonelli - who is back on the track after his car was given a once-over in the garage.
15:36
But the Ferrari drivers are flying. Leclerc crosses the line to go fastest, but Hamilton follows him with a better time still, going 0.078s faster than his team-mate with a 1m13.151s.
15:35
A smooth lap from Antonelli until the final corner! He loses the rear and hops across the gravel. That could have been so much worse for the championship leader.
Russell crosses the line to set a 1m13.829s.
15:33
Having got caught by traffic early in the lap, Russell is considerably slower than Antonelli, but both laps appeared to be secondary warm-up laps only, so no real damage done.
15:31
Green light for SQ1
SQ1 begins. The session will last for just 12 minutes, and the Mercedes drivers are the first out in order to get banker times in.
Given how likely it is that there will be traffic, yellow or even red flags in this session, putting in an early time is crucial.
15:29
In both SQ1 and SQ2, drivers must use medium tyres, and only a single set. In SQ3, a single set of new soft tyres are permitted.
15:27
The risk of rain for sprint qualifying is just 10%, which is less than pleasing. But you're telling me there's still a chance...
15:26
Five minutes before the green lights go out for the start of SQ1.
15:20
Williams feared losing ‘championship-material’ Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon amid F1 woes
Williams feared losing ‘championship-material’ Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon amid F1 woes
Williams Formula 1 team principal James Vowles has admitted he was “concerned about losing both” Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon before they signed contract extensions.
Following a dreadful start to the 2026 season for Williams, Sainz and Albon had been weighing up their futures over the F1 summer break, but both ultimately reaffirmed their commitment to the British outfit.
Albon and Sainz are staying put at Williams for 2027
15:14
It's been quite the week in F1 already, and the action is only just beginning.
15:08
Russell got engaged to his long-term partner during the F1 shutdown, and Mercedes has marked the occasion, presenting the Briton with a 'contract' to sign.