George Russell secured pole position for the Sprint at the Dutch Grand Prix. The Mercedes driver set the fastest time of 1:11.567, edging Lando Norris by just 0.041 seconds. Behind the McLaren driver, Charles Leclerc posted the third quickest time, finishing 0.055 seconds adrift of Russell.
Sprint Qualifying took place with track temperatures of around 30°C and ambient temperatures of approximately 22°C. Oscar Piastri will start tomorrow’s Sprint from fourth on the grid after ending the session less than a tenth of a second away from pole position. As stipulated by the regulations, all drivers set their best SQ3 times using a set of C4 tyres.
In SQ2, where drivers were required, as in SQ1, to run the Medium compound, the fastest times came from the two McLaren drivers: Oscar Piastri stopped the clock at 1:12.026, while Lando Norris completed the session in 1:12.189. The Sprint Qualifying Award was presented to Russell by Pirelli Motorsport Director Dario Marrafuschi.
During FP1, all drivers, with the exception of Max Verstappen and Liam Lawson, completed several laps on Intermediate tyres. However, track conditions improved rapidly, allowing the switch to slicks almost immediately, with all three available compounds being tested. Kimi Antonelli topped the session thanks to a lap of 1:12.949. Lando Norris set the second fastest time, while George Russell finished third.
The driver who completed the most laps on the Hard compound was Arvid Lindblad with 24; on the Medium, George Russell led the way with 27 laps, while on the Soft it was Alexander Albon who completed the most mileage, with 22 laps.
‘;