16:27
Sprint pole for Russell. A strong weekend is needed to get his championship challenge back on the road, and this is certainly the right way to begin that mission.
Carlos Sainz Williams
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
18:29
Returning F1 driver shares first impressions on maligned 2026 cars
Returning F1 driver shares first impressions on maligned 2026 cars
Yuki Tsunoda has offered his thoughts on the new era of Formula 1 machinery after getting his first taste of the cars on Friday at the Dutch Grand Prix.
The Japanese F1 veteran returned to action with Racing Bulls this weekend as part of a driver shuffle following an injury to Red Bull driver Isack Hadjar. As a result, Liam Lawson was promoted back to the front-running team, while Tsunoda filled the seat left vacant by the New Zealander.
Tsunoda has had his first real-world taste of the new generation F1 cars
© XPB Images
17:45
Lewis Hamilton frustrated with “completely different car” after Ferrari set-up tweaks in F1 Dutch GP sprint qualifying
Lewis Hamilton frustrated with “completely different car” after Ferrari set-up tweaks in F1 Dutch GP sprint qualifying
Lewis Hamilton says he and Ferrari need to “figure out what went wrong” after a disappointing sprint qualifying at the Dutch Grand Prix.
The seven-time Formula 1 world champion could only take seventh in qualifying for the sprint race at Zandvoort and ended up half a second behind team-mate Charles Leclerc, who was third in the other Ferrari.
Lewis Hamilton was a frustrated seventh in sprint qualifying
17:43
Fernando Alonso blames upgraded Honda power unit for Dutch sprint qualifying problems
Fernando Alonso blames upgraded Honda power unit for Dutch sprint qualifying problems
Fernando Alonso has pointed the finger at his upgraded Honda power unit as a prime factor for his back-of-the-grid qualifying for the Dutch Grand Prix sprint race.
Aston Martin made a step forward with a significant chassis upgrade last time out in Hungary, as Alonso was able to escape Q1 for the first time this year.
Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin, 2026 Hungarian GP
© XPB Images
17:02
Kimi Antonelli reveals Dutch GP sprint qualifying off left him with "holes in the floor"
Kimi Antonelli reveals Dutch GP sprint qualifying off left him with "holes in the floor"
Kimi Antonelli has revealed the extent of the damage he suffered after going off the track in the first phase of sprint qualifying at the Dutch Grand Prix.
The Formula 1 championship leader will start Saturday's sprint race from fifth on the grid after battling for the majority of sprint qualifying with significant floor damage.
Antonelli will start from fifth in the Dutch sprint race
© XPB Images
16:33
2026 F1 Zandvoort: Full Dutch GP sprint qualifying and Friday practice results
2026 F1 Zandvoort: Full Dutch GP sprint qualifying and Friday practice results
George Russell will start Saturday's Dutch Grand Prix sprint race from pole position.
Russell took his third sprint pole position of the Formula 1 season, besting McLaren's Lando Norris in a close-fought session.
Antonelli at Zandvoort
© XPB Images
16:32
George Russell takes pole position for Zandvoort F1 sprint race at Dutch GP
George Russell takes pole position for Zandvoort F1 sprint race at Dutch GP
Mercedes’ George Russell pipped McLaren’s Lando Norris to a brilliant pole position for the first Formula 1 sprint race to be held at the Dutch Grand Prix.
Russell, who is 59 points behind his Mercedes team-mate Andrea Kimi Antonelli in the world championship, took top spot by just 0.041 seconds from reigning world champion Norris in his upgraded McLaren.
George Russell claimed his third sprint pole of 2026
16:29
Russell react to Zandvoort sprint pole
"It's great to be back here after the break. It's a circuit I really love. It needs a lot of commitment.
"It was obviously a tough end to the first half of the year, but I'm really happy to come back. It's been a little while since I've done one of these interviews, so it's nice.
"The lap felt really good, to be honest. It all came together nicely. It's always difficult these sprint qualifyings when you just got one shot on the soft tyre, and the track always takes a step, the grip takes a step, but it all came together nicely.
"The McLarens look quick, Ferrari look quick, but really glad to pull it off when it mattered."
16:19
A strong result for Leclerc, but Ferrari would have been hoping for much more after a strong practice session.
16:16
The top 10 in sprint qualifying are:
- Russell
- Norris
- Leclerc
- Piastri
- Antonelli
- Verstappen
- Hamilton
- Gasly
- Bortoleto
- Lindblad
16:15
Russell takes sprint pole
Russell will start the sprint race from pole position, with a 1m11.567s.
Russell was a relieved man in Zandvoort
© XPB Images
16:15
Leclerc goes third and Piastri fourth. Hamilton is only sixth, but drops a place as Verstappen takes his third-row slot.
16:14
Antonelli falls short by a tenth. But Russell takes provisional pole by 0.041s!
16:13
Norris crosses the line with a 1m11.608s!
16:13
Purple sectors everywhere on the timing screen.
16:12
Norris begins his final qualifying lap as the clock ticks to 90 seconds remaining.
16:11
It's likely that the eight drivers that have headed out so far will do double warm-up laps, while Gasly and Bortoleto elect only for single warm-up efforts.
16:10
Here we go! All at once, the 10 drivers appear from the garages. Piastri leads Norris, Leclerc, Russell, Hamilton, Antonelli, Lindblad and Verstappen out. Gasly and Bortoleto remain in the garages for the moment.
16:09
The sound, of silence...
16:07
SQ3 begins
A single set of new soft tyres per car in SQ3, and the drivers are all waiting in the pits. Just under 7 minutes of the session remain.
16:06
With the upgrades on his car, Gasly makes it into SQ3 for Alpine. Without the new parts, Colapinto is out.
16:05
Not the result that Lawson had hoped for, but he wasn't that far off Verstappen. A respectable job, all things considered.
16:01
Out in SQ2
The drivers out in SQ2 are:
11. Lawson
12. Tsunoda
13. Colapinto
14. Hulkenberg
15. Ocon
16. Albon
16:00
Lawson drops to 11th and isn't on a lap. He's out!
16:00
Chequered flag in SQ2
The flag falls and Lindblad moves up to eighth, but Tsunoda is out.