F1 Dutch GP Sprint Qualifying got underway at Zandvoort on Friday afternoon as F1 returned from the summer break. Kimi Antonelli headed into the session leading the Drivers’ Championship on 219 points after topping Free Practice earlier in the day with a 1:12.949. Lando Norris and George Russell completed the top three in FP1, separated by just 0.125 seconds.
SQ1: Leclerc sets the pace as Antonelli recovers from gravel excursion
Kimi Antonelli was the first driver out of the pit lane as the 2026 F1 Dutch GP Sprint Qualifying got underway. His opening run came to an end when he lost the rear at Turn 13 and came straight into the pits as he had gone through the gravel. The team checked the car over quickly, confirmed it was undamaged, and sent him back out with enough time to set a representative lap. He came through in seventh, managing the situation calmly despite the early scare.
While Antonelli waited in the pits, Leclerc jumped to the top of the timesheets. Hamilton then took it away from him by just 0.007 seconds. Norris improved further to go 0.008 seconds quicker than Hamilton, with the leading group split by fractions on a circuit where the lap is short and every corner counts.
Lawson impressed on his return to Red Bull, going sixth and ahead of Verstappen, with Tsunoda also delivering a solid seventh in his first laps of the 2026 car.
The top of the F1 Dutch GP Sprint Qualifying order at the end of SQ1 had a familiar look, with the leading four teams filling the top eight. Further back, Alonso paid a heavy price for a lockup at Turn 1 on his only set of tyres. The flat spot left him unable to improve and he was eliminated 22nd, with Bearman, Sainz, Stroll, Bottas, and Pérez also failing to progress.
Out in SQ1: Bearman, Sainz, Stroll, Bottas, Pérez, Alonso
SQ2: Piastri leads McLaren one-two at 2026 F1 Dutch GP Sprint Qualifying
SQ2 opened with Hülkenberg, Ocon, and Albon among the first out. Norris headed out shortly after, with traffic less of a factor now with only 16 cars remaining. Ocon set the early benchmark ahead of Hülkenberg and Albon as the session got going.
Piastri then produced the stand-out lap of SQ2. The Australian went half a second clear of Norris, who made a mistake somewhere on his lap, to sit comfortably at the top. Leclerc could not match Piastri, going second at 0.164 seconds back, with Hamilton third, four tenths away. Russell went third before Verstappen slotted into sixth. Antonelli went fifth before Russell improved to take third. Piastri remained the man to beat.
The midfield fight in the F1 Dutch GP Sprint Qualifying was tight. Gasly delivered an impressive effort on his only flying lap to go seventh, the Alpine upgrades clearly making a difference at Zandvoort.
Lindblad got through in ninth. Bortoleto found the pace to join the top ten. Lawson went again but could not find the ultimate pace and was eliminated 11th. Tsunoda went 12th. Colapinto, Hülkenberg, Ocon, and Albon completed the list of drivers knocked out.
Out in SQ2: Lawson, Tsunoda, Colapinto, Hülkenberg, Ocon, Albon
SQ3: Russell takes pole during 2026 F1 Dutch GP Sprint Qualifying
All ten drivers headed out on the soft compound for the final segment of the F1 Dutch GP Sprint Qualifying. Most opted for two warm-up laps before their push lap, timing their effort for the grippiest conditions at the very end of the session. Norris headed out first and went through two build laps before committing to his flying effort, posting a 1:11.608 to go provisional fastest.
Russell then crossed the line and beat the World Champion by 0.041 seconds with a 1:11.567 to take Sprint pole. Antonelli went quickest in the first sector but lost significant time through the middle sector, ending up fifth, two tenths off.
Leclerc, Hamilton, and Verstappen all had their attempts but could not match the top two. Piastri took fourth, just 0.044s away from Leclerc. The top four were covered by just 0.099 seconds.
In the battle for the final points positions, Gasly delivered again for Alpine to take eighth, with Bortoleto ninth and Lindblad tenth. Russell claimed Sprint pole at Zandvoort, with Norris alongside him on the front row and Leclerc third.
