Lando Norris wins qualifying in the Netherlands, George Russell takes sprint victory

Formula 1 world champion Lando Norris finished ahead of the Mercedes duo, George Russell and Kimi Antonelli, securing a third consecutive pole position for McLaren at the Dutch Grand Prix. This is also Norris's second consecutive pole, following his success in Hungary before the August break.

Norris now has an excellent opportunity to win on Sunday, as since the race in Zandvoort returned to the calendar in 2021 after a 34-year absence, the driver who started from pole has always won. The McLaren Briton first set a leading time of 1:11.344, and then improved to 1:11.163 to secure first place. Russell finished with a gap of 0.102 seconds, while Antonelli, who leads the world championship, was 0.133 seconds slower.

Oscar Piastri of McLaren, who won here last year from pole after Norris won in 2024, set the fourth-best time, just 0.142 seconds behind his teammate. Lewis Hamilton, the seven-time world champion and Antonelli's closest rival in the standings, but trailing by 53 points after the sprint, finished fifth for Ferrari. His teammate Charles Leclerc, who finished second in the sprint, will start sixth. Local crowd hero Max Verstappen, who has won three times in Zandvoort in front of his "Orange Army," finished seventh for Red Bull.

Earlier, the sprint race was held, which was won by Russell, who added eight points to his tally (168 points in total, in third place). Leclerc finished second and added seven points, leader Antonelli increased his lead at the top by finishing fourth (224 points in total), while the second-ranked Hamilton arrived only in seventh place (171 points in total).