George Russell won the Sprint of the Dutch Grand Prix ahead of Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris. The Monegasque made his soft tire gamble work.
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George Russell did not miss his chance at Zandvoort. Starting from pole position, the Mercedes driver won the Sprint of the Dutch Grand Prix after controlling the race from start to finish, despite the threat of rain in the final moments.
Behind him, Charles Leclerc secured a solid second place after overtaking Lando Norris in the second half of the race. The McLaren driver completed the podium after holding off Kimi Antonelli until the checkered flag.
The majority of the field had chosen medium tires at the start. Leclerc was one of the main exceptions: the Monegasque was the only top 10 driver to start on softs, a bold choice for a 24-lap race.
Russell immediately takes control
At the lights out, Russell kept the advantage ahead of Norris and Leclerc. Despite his soft tires, the Ferrari driver could not capitalize on the start to gain a position.
Behind him, Antonelli immediately got the better of Oscar Piastri and positioned himself in the slipstream of the Ferrari. But at the front, Russell soon imposed his pace.
The Brit quickly built a gap of more than a second over Norris before the McLaren driver slightly closed in on lap four. Russell nevertheless maintained control of the situation by keeping his rival at bay.
Further back, Max Verstappen gradually closed in on Piastri, the Red Bull seeming to show better race pace than in qualifying. Lewis Hamilton faced more difficulties and could not keep up with the Dutchman’s pace.
Leclerc takes advantage of Norris’s struggles
The main suspense then concerned Leclerc’s ability to preserve his soft tires until the finish. As the laps went by, the Monegasque nevertheless stayed close to Norris.
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The situation changed when the reigning world champion began to struggle with the rear of his McLaren. On lap 11, Norris complained of having “no rear at all”, allowing Leclerc to quickly close in on his attack zone.
The Ferrari driver eventually went on the offensive at the first corner. Leclerc dived inside and, despite Norris’s resistance, took second position.
His soft tire gamble, which initially seemed risky, ultimately allowed him to secure an excellent result.
Norris holds off Antonelli, rain arrives too late
Once Leclerc had passed, Norris had to look more in his mirrors. Antonelli gradually closed in on the McLaren and was very close to the Brit at the start of the last lap.
The Mercedes driver, however, could not find a way past and had to settle for fourth place.
Meanwhile, the rain, expected since the start, finally began to intensify over Zandvoort. However, it arrived too late to shake up the order.
Russell thus crossed the finish line as the winner after a perfectly controlled performance. Leclerc finished second ahead of Norris and Antonelli, allowing Ferrari to leave the Sprint with an encouraging result before the Grand Prix qualifying.
For Russell, this victory mainly confirms the competitiveness of Mercedes at Zandvoort. After securing pole on Friday, the Brit transformed his front-row start into a win without really being put under pressure.
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