15:04
We're half an hour away from sprint qualifying, and there is a significant threat of rain. Please actually rain this time and don't go all F1 on us!
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
14:58
One last ride at Zandvoort, and Red Bull is pushing the significance of the weekend to four-time champion and Dutch home hero Verstappen.
14:41
Practice was a close-fought session, with Mercedes, McLaren and Ferrari all showing strongpace. Red Bull looked a step behind, and were more in competition with Alpine and Audi than the front-runners.
14:32
Details of Isack Hadjar injury and F1 recovery timeline emerge
Details of Isack Hadjar injury and F1 recovery timeline emerge
More details have emerged about Red Bull Formula 1 driver Isack Hadjar’s injury that ruled him out of this weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix.
Hadjar suffered a wrist injury while boxing in training over the F1 summer break and has been forced to sit out of the Zandvoort weekend, with Liam Lawson replacing him at Red Bull.
Isack Hadjar is missing the Dutch Grand Prix
14:31
Good afternoon, and we're back, ready to build up to sprint qualifying, which will begin in just one hour.
12:57
And with that, it's time to take a break before we return at around 2:30pm, bringing you an hour of build-up to sprint qualifying. Until then, it's time to enjoy some lunch!
12:56
Away from the established top order, Audi look set for a strong weekend, with both Hulkenberg and Bortoleto showing well in practice. Most notably, both drivers set their fastest times on the medium tyres.
12:52
Mercedes may have topped the session, but the championship leaders look beatable. It will certainly be close between the top three teams - if it's dry.
If the wet weather returns, all bets are off.
12:50
Kimi Antonelli edges Lando Norris in crucial sole F1 practice at Dutch Grand Prix
Kimi Antonelli edges Lando Norris in crucial sole F1 practice at Dutch Grand Prix
Formula 1 championship leader Andrea Kimi Antonelli set the pace in the sole practice session at the Dutch Grand Prix.
Antonelli, who leads the championship by 50 points from Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton, edged out Lando Norris to the fastest time by just 0.121 seconds in a competitive practice session at Zandvoort.
Kimi Antonelli set the pace in practice
12:49
2026 F1 Zandvoort: Full Dutch GP Friday practice results
2026 F1 Zandvoort: Full Dutch GP Friday practice results
Kimi Antonelli began the Dutch Grand Prix weekend at Zandvoort as the fastest driver in the sole practice session of the weekend.
The penultimate sprint weekend of the year got underway in damp conditions, but quickly saw drivers switch to dry rubber.
Antonelli at Zandvoort
© XPB Images
12:40
However, there is more than a little bit of work that needs to be done before sprint qualifying at Red Bull, with neither driver in the top 10.
12:39
McLaren followed up a strong performance and race win in Hungary with a strong practice session at Zandvoort. That's almost exactly what the team would have hoped for.
12:35
Rather predictably, as the session comes to a close, there are a few spots of rain beginning to land on the cameras.
12:32
Top 10 in practice
The top 10 in the sole practice session for the weekend are:
- Antonelli
- Norris
- Russell
- Hamilton
- Leclerc
- Piastri
- Hulkenberg
- Gasly
- Bortoleto
- Lindblad
12:31
Russell goes third, ahead of Hamilton and Leclerc.
12:30
Norris improves to second place, but Russell is on the bubble of a purple time.
12:30
Chequered flag
The flag has fallen, and these will be the final laps.
12:29
A personal best for Leclerc but he remains in fourth place.
At the foot of the table, Sainz is the slowest driver of all, falling behind the Cadillac pair.
12:28
A new session best as Antonelli finds clear track this time and registers a 1m12.949s.
12:27
Antonelli was on a hot lap and came across Hulkenberg on a slow lap. Safe to say, the Mercedes driver was not impressed by that.
Lawson too finds traffic on his final tour.
12:26
Norris goes purple in sector one, remains fastest through sector two, and puts in a 1m13.105s. He is now the fastest driver despite battling through a heap of traffic.
12:25
Even more impressive with Hulkenberg is the fact that he set his time on the medium tyre. Bortoleto has now gone to P6, also with the medium rubber. That will have caught the eyes of other teams in the paddock.
12:23
A 1m13.139s puts Hamilton to the top, just as Hulkenberg goes fourth for Audi!
12:22
Verstappen goes only fifth fastest and is 0.717s and appeared to be carrying a significant amount of understeer.
Leclerc completes the lap this time and betters Piastri with a 1m13.347s. Hamilton is going even faster, though.
12:21
Here come the closing qualifying sims. Leclerc makes an error at the start of his lap, as Piastri then goes fastest with a 1m13.608s.