Russell takes Dutch GP sprint pole as Antonelli struggles to fifth

At a sunny and breezy Zandvoort on Friday, though, he began the second part of the season exactly the way he needs to if he is to eat into the deficit. Antonelli could only manage fifth position, 0.227sec off Russell’s pole time after an uncharacteristically scruffy lap.

“It’s great to be back here after the break. It was obviously a tough end to the first half of the year but really happy to come back. It’s been a while since I’ve done one of these [pole position] interviews,” Russell said after the session.

“The lap felt really good to be honest, it all came together nicely. The McLarens look quick, Ferrari look quick, but really glad to pull it off when it mattered. It’s been great, it’s just the sprint qualifying and the big points are on Sunday – just trying to carry the momentum into tomorrow.”

Russell taking sprint victory – and the eight points with it – was far from a formality. The top four drivers here were separated by less than a tenth of a second. Lando Norris, the defending champion who won the last race before the break in dominant style at the Hungaroring, was second, 0.041sec behind Russell. Charles Leclerc, the lead Ferrari, was third, just 0.055sec adrift. Oscar Piastri in the second McLaren was fourth, but was within a tenth of a second of the pole time.

As for the home hero? Max Verstappen has won this race three times before, and will want to put on a good show for the orange army before the race falls off the calendar after this year. By far the biggest news this weekend is his commitment to Red Bull until 2030, which will mean he will end up having spent a staggering 15 seasons at the team.

As has been the case for much of the year, at no point did the Red Bull look capable of threatening the front two rows, even in Verstappen’s capable hands. He will start the sprint in fifth, after finishing more than half a second down from Russell in another frustrating afternoon. Red Bull are, however, a team who seem to be capable of turning a poor Friday into a stronger weekend, but even having a sniff of the podium looks a big ask.

Lewis Hamilton, who is Antonelli’s closest championship challenger, albeit 50 points back, struggled in the final part of sprint qualifying, finishing behind even Verstappen and more than half a second adrift of his team-mate.

As for Antonelli? This is nothing to worry about. The points in the sprint race only ever make a small difference to the championship picture. Losing even four or five should not be a concern, especially with so many available on Sunday.

On this track last year Antonelli had a worryingly messy weekend in a debut season that was littered with them. He spun out of practice and then punted Leclerc out of the race, picking up a penalty for his error. Toto Wolff, the Mercedes team principal, said it was all part of the learning process. In the 12 months since, he has learnt enough to give himself a commanding lead in the world championship in only his second season in F1. The pressure is still on Russell to deliver.

Elsewhere, Liam Lawson, who has been promoted to Red Bull for this weekend from Racing Bulls because of a wrist injury to Isack Hadjar, was 11th. Lawson was dropped from Red Bull in 2025 after just two rounds, but he appears to be making a slightly better fist of it here, even if this is likely to be his only chance to impress for the senior team. Yuki Tsunoda, who is a substitute for Lawson for this weekend, was 12th in his first outing in the new-regulation cars.

Aston Martin, who brought their first power-unit upgrade of the season, having jumped forward after an impressive update to their car in Hungary, had a day that was in keeping with their woeful season. Lance Stroll was 18th whilst Fernando Alonso, who ran off track at a crucial time in SQ1, was 22nd and last, more than three seconds off the pace.

[Source: Daily Telegraph]