George Russell produced a late surge to claim pole position for Saturday’s Dutch Grand Prix Sprint, edging reigning World Champion Lando Norris in a remarkably tight qualifying session at Zandvoort.
The Mercedes driver delivered a 1m11.567s in SQ3 to beat Norris by just 0.041 seconds and secure his second Sprint pole of the season, following his success in Shanghai.
Championship leader Kimi Antonelli, meanwhile, could manage only fifth, leaving the Mercedes team-mates separated by 0.227s.
Dutch Grand Prix - Sprint qualifying results
Russell strikes when it matters
Russell had not looked like the obvious pole contender earlier in qualifying, with Charles Leclerc topping SQ1 and Oscar Piastri leading SQ2. But when the pressure peaked, the Briton found the extra pace needed to leapfrog the field.
Leclerc came closest in the Ferrari, finishing just 0.055s adrift, while Piastri placed fourth, another 0.099s away from Russell. Antonelli was fifth, with Max Verstappen sixth for Red Bull, exactly three tenths behind his Mercedes rival.
Lewis Hamilton endured a tougher session in the second Ferrari, qualifying seventh at 0.624s from pole. Pierre Gasly took eighth for Alpine, followed by Audi’s Gabriel Bortoleto and Racing Bulls rookie Arvid Lindblad, who completed the top 10.
Lawson just misses SQ3 cut on Red Bull return
Liam Lawson’s first qualifying session back with Red Bull produced an 11th-place finish. The New Zealander, drafted in for the injured Isack Hadjar, missed SQ3 by four tenths and was eliminated alongside Racing Bulls stand-in Yuki Tsunoda.
“I have no idea what happened,” reported Lawson.
Franco Colapinto was 13th for Alpine, ahead of Nico Hulkenberg, while Esteban Ocon and Alex Albon completed the SQ2 eliminations.
Oliver Bearman headed the SQ1 drop zone in 17th after a late improvement, with Carlos Sainz 18th for Williams. Lance Stroll was 19th, while Cadillac’s Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez occupied 20th and 21st.
Fernando Alonso endured the biggest struggle of all, qualifying last after locking up at Turn 1. The Aston Martin driver had attempted to benefit from a tow from a Cadillac, but his rear-wing straight-line mode was subsequently found not to be functioning.
Russell therefore starts Saturday’s shortened Sprint from the front, with Norris alongside and Ferrari’s Leclerc and McLaren’s Piastri immediately behind. Antonelli will have work to do from fifth if the championship leader is to extend his advantage.
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