F1 Zandvoort LIVE: Russell leads Dutch GP sprint race

An update from Audi on Hulkenberg's retirement: "Nico’s car experienced a power issue, which the team is still investigating. As a result, we elected to call the #27 car to the pits."

This will get the fans going, as Verstappen escapes Hamilton and has closed right on to Piastri for fifth. 

Double points for Ferrari right now, but the Scuderia look the most likely to move forward. 

Norris loses the rear of his McLaren at Turn 1 but Leclerc is unable to pounce. He's lost over a second on Russell across the last two laps and could be in difficulty here. 

Onto lap 9 of 24 and there is still little to separate the top four. But given the minimal points difference for positions in the sprint, attempting an already risky pass is simply not worth it. 

One down, as Hulkenberg is instructed to box to retire the car. That's a disappointing one for Audi, with the team having shown good pace so far this weekend. 

Norris has closed to within a second of Russell at the front as he pulls the chasing pack along with him. 

Some good news for Perez, he has made it out onto the track. He's 3 laps down, but the sprint was always only ever going to be a glorified test session for the Cadillac driver. 

Leclerc's soft tyre advantage doesn't appear to have worked as he had hoped. It was worth a gamble, but he's falling back on Norris now. 

Lap 1 of 24 complete, and Perez remains in the pits. His day has gotten off to an awful start. 

Lawson is one place outside the top 10 for Red Bull, as he attempts to close on team-mate Verstappen in sixth. 

All the drivers appear to have made it around the first few corners cleanly. Leclerc is closing on Norris ahead, but Russell is escaping at the front. Antonelli has passed Piastri for fourth, and is now pressuring Leclerc. It's all happening. 

All 22 drivers are on medium tyres, save for Leclerc in third place, and Bearman in 17th, who both have elected to run the soft tyres in the hope of making some early gains. 

Problems for Perez, as he is wheeled off down the pit lane. Not a great start.

Green light, and the formation lap is go. Isack Hadjar watches on from the pit wall after injury forced him out of the weekend. 

Just five minutes to go before we get moving for the formation lap. It may only be a sprint race, but Russell absolutely MUST take advantage of this to close the gap tot the points leaders. 

Does it show who the fans are here to see? Verstappen gets a huge roar from the crowd - those who have been able to get here so far! - as he heads to the grid. 

Just over 20 minutes before lights out, and it has emerged that there is significant travel chaos on the trains which could prevent thousands of fans from being at the track in time to witness the sprint race. 

Adding to the mayhem, former driver turned pundit Alice Powell has highlighted the lack of any system to separate personnel from spectators when getting around the facility. 

Half an hour before lights out, and the lights have gone green at the end of the pit lane. 

There seem to be some damp patches on pit exit, but the track is 100% dry. 

The season has been a development race, and this is not something that is going to change any time soon. The team bringing the most updates this week are Alpine, with Pierre Gasly receiving an eight-part upgrade.

The Frenchman made the most of this impressive leap to return to the top 10 in sprint qualifying - moving clear of Racing Bulls. 

Franco Colapinto is competing with the older package here, and you can see the difference. 

Full story here...

The grid is rapidly being set at Zandvoort, with the atmosphere building before the 22 drivers are released for their sighting laps.