Dutch GP Sprint Qualifying: George Russell claims pole position with title rivals Kimi Antonelli, Lewis Hamilton on back foot
The newly-engaged George Russell bounces back to form with Zandvoort Sprint pole from Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc; Kimi Antonelli damaged car on his first lap; watch the Sprint on Saturday at 11am (build-up from 10am) with Qualifying at 3pm, live on Sky Sports F1
Friday 21 August 2026 17:27, UK
George Russell made the ideal start to his attempt to mount a championship fightback in the second half of the 2026 F1 season by claiming pole position for Saturday's Dutch Grand Prix Sprint as nearest title rivals Kimi Antonelli and Lewis Hamilton qualified outside the top four.
On F1's first day back on track after the sport's four-week summer break, Russell claimed his third Sprint pole in five attempts this season as his final SQ3 lap of 1:11.567 beat McLaren's Lando Norris and Ferrari's Charles Leclerc to the head of the weekend's first Zandvoort grid by under a tenth of a second.
But championship leader Antonelli was only fifth quickest in the other Mercedes, the Italian teenager's session compromised after he damaged his car in a trip through the gravel on his first lap of SQ1.
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Hamilton, who is second to Antonelli in the standings, qualified only seventh in the second Ferrari after earlier promise on Friday faded.
Hamilton trails Antonelli by 50 points in the Drivers' Championship, with Russell a further nine points adrift. Points are on offer to the top-eight finishers in Saturday's 24-lap Sprint, which starts at 11am on Sky Sports F1, with eight for the winner.
Russell got engaged to his long-time partner Carmen Montero Mundt during F1's break and quipped on Mercedes team radio after his Sprint pole was confirmed: "Nice one! Must be a bit lighter after that engagement ring!"
Oscar Piastri took fourth in the second McLaren, just 0.009s back on pole himself, with Max Verstappen sixth for Red Bull at his home event - but half a second away from the front amid a disappointing opening day for Red Bull.
Indeed, Verstappen and seventh-placed Hamilton lapped closer to Alpine's Pierre Gasly - whose car has the Enstone team's sole upgrade this weekend - than the polesitter.
Eighth-placed Gasly led the midfield fight ahead of Audi's Gabriel Bortoleto in ninth and Racing Bulls' Arvid Linbdlad in 10th.
Lindblad denied Liam Lawson, his usual Racing Bulls' team-mate but who is racing for the senior Red Bull team this weekend in place of the injured Isack Hadjar, the last top-10 berth on the final laps of SQ2
Lawson, who had two ill-fated races for Red Bull at the start of last season, outpaced Verstappen in the first session but lost out on a SQ3 berth by three tenths of a second.
The New Zealander will start just ahead of Yuki Tsunoda, the driver who is standing in for him this weekend at Racing Bulls, with the Japanese qualifying 12th on his first F1 race weekend since December.
Fernando Alonso qualified last in the Aston Martin - which features Honda's long-awaited first engine upgrade as well as a second round of aerodynamic revisions - after a problem with his AMR26's straight-line mode cost him crucial lap time. The Spanish veteran had finished 12th fastest in the only practice session.
Russell 'really happy to come back' as Antonelli mistake proves costly
Russell's pole position lap at the end of SQ3 came as something of a surprise given the Briton had only lapped fifth and fourth-fastest respectively in the first two knockout segments, two tenths off the pace, with Ferrari and McLaren appearing to have the legs on championship leaders Mercedes.
But Russell proved a more competitive proposition on the mandatory, and single, soft-tyre runs of the final phase to deny McLaren rival Norris the fastest time.
"It was a tough end to the first half of the year and I'm really happy to come back," said Russell, who scored only six points in the two races before the summer break.
"The lap felt really good. It all came together really nicely. It's always difficult these Sprint Qualifyings with just one shot on the soft tyre. The track always takes a step, the grip takes a step.
"McLaren look quick, Ferrari look quick but I'm glad to pull it off when it matted."
Unusually Antonelli did not finish in the top four of any of the three qualifying segments, confirming afterwards that his slide wide through the gravel at the penultimate corner on his first timed lap of SQ1 had damaged the underside of his W17.
"Oh yeah, [there was] big time [damage]. I had a couple of holes in the floor," Antonelli said.
"When I came in, they initially said it was a loss of 25 [downforce] points. They tried to repair as much as possible, but definitely the damage was still there. I was struggling a lot in the low-speed [corners].
"It is what it is. It was a little bit too much entry speed in the last corner on that first lap. I lost the rear and went through the gravel, and that was pretty much it.
"And then obviously it was not easy to build the confidence back. But still decently close, and we'll have another go tomorrow."
Sky Sports F1's live Dutch GP schedule
Saturday August 22
8.15am: F1 Academy Qualifying
10am: Dutch GP Sprint build-up
11am: DUTCH GP SPRINT*
1.30pm: F1 Academy Race 1
2.20pm: Dutch GP Qualifying build-up*
3pm: DUTCH GP QUALIFYING*
5pm: Porsche Supercup Race 1
Sunday August 23
9.35am: F1 Academy Race 2
10.50am: Porsche Supercup Race 2
12.30pm: Grand Prix Sunday: Dutch GP build-up
2pm: THE DUTCH GRAND PRIX
4pm: Chequered Flag: Dutch GP reaction
*also on Sky Sports Main Event
Formula 1 is at Zandvoort for a Sprint weekend at the Dutch Grand Prix with every session live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports with NOW - no contract, cancel anytime
