With Russell, Norris, Leclerc, and Piastri separated by less than a tenth, the front row tells only part of the story: the Sprint promises to be particularly open, with rain forecast for tomorrow!
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George Russell will start from pole position for the Sprint of the Dutch Grand Prix after winning an extremely tight qualifying at Zandvoort.
The Mercedes driver edged out Lando Norris, while the top four are separated by less than a tenth of a second.
Antonelli only fifth
Russell set the benchmark at 1’11’’567, confirming the competitiveness shown by Mercedes since the start of the Dutch weekend. Norris missed out by only 41 thousandths of a second to the Brit and will place his McLaren on the front row.
Behind them, the gaps are just as minimal. Charles Leclerc secured third position at the wheel of his Ferrari, while Oscar Piastri completes the second row for McLaren. The Australian is only 99 thousandths behind Russell’s pole, proof of a particularly tight hierarchy at Zandvoort.
The session proved much more difficult for Kimi Antonelli, fastest in the practice this noon. The championship leader, who had dominated the only free practice session, had a scare right from SQ1 by leaving the track and ending up in the gravel.
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Antonelli was able to continue the session but never truly managed to regain the control he showed a few hours earlier. His final attempt only earned him fifth position. A necessarily disappointing result given the potential of the Mercedes, but it keeps him close enough to the leaders to hope to play an important role during the Sprint.
Lawson and Tsunoda eliminated in SQ2
The two substitutes of the weekend had a more complicated qualifying. Liam Lawson, called up by Red Bull to replace Isack Hadjar, finished 11th, just outside SQ3. Just behind him, Yuki Tsunoda placed his Racing Bulls in 12th position for his return to competition. Both will therefore have work to do during the Sprint to climb back up the order.
Noteworthy is the nice eighth place of Pierre Gasly, best of the rest at the wheel of an upgraded Alpine who will start on the fourth row alongside the second Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton. Gabi Bortoleto and Arvid Lindblad also made it into the top 10.
It will be tougher for Franco Colapinto in thirteenth and Esteban Ocon in fifteenth, while Fernando Alonso will bring up the rear, 3 full seconds off the pole after a chaotic SQ1 session. The Sprint start will be given at noon tomorrow before qualifying at 4 p.m., potentially on a soaking wet track if the weather forecast is to be believed.
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