Antonelli Finishes Only Fifth

Russell takes pole for the Zandvoort Sprint

George Russell secured the pole position for the sprint race at Zandvoort.(Bild: EPA/Sander Koning)

George Russell secured pole position for the sprint race at Zandvoort. Lando Norris will start in second place. Championship leader Kimi Antonelli finished only fifth.

George Russell has secured pole position for the Formula 1 sprint race at Zandvoort. The Mercedes driver edged out world champion Lando Norris in the McLaren by 0.041 seconds to take second place in Friday’s sprint qualifying ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix. Kimi Antonelli, in the second Mercedes, could not go beyond fifth place, finishing just ahead of local hero Max Verstappen in the Red Bull. The championship leader was 0.227 seconds behind his teammate Russell.

Russell could use Saturday’s 24-lap sprint race to chip away at his 59-point deficit in the world championship. The winner will earn eight points, and the top eight drivers will receive championship points.

Here are the final results:

Before the four-week summer break, Russell—who, before the start of the season, had been considered the top favorite for the championship—had suffered one setback after another. “It’s great to be back after the break. It was a race where everything came together,” said the Englishman. “I love this track—it takes a lot of determination.” McLaren and Ferrari looked fast. “But I’m glad we’re where we are.”

Kimi Antonelli(Bild: AFP/SIMON WOHLFAHRT)

Antonelli in the gravel trap
Third-place Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc was just 5.5 hundredths off Russell’s best time. His teammate Lewis Hamilton, who trails Antonelli by 50 points in the World Championship and is his closest pursuer, could not manage better than seventh on the grid. McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, who celebrated his most recent Grand Prix victory last year on the dune-lined circuit in Zandvoort, edged past Antonelli into fourth place. In the only free practice session, the 19-year-old championship leader had been the fastest.

At the start of the knockout qualifying session, however, Antonelli careened through the gravel trap. His car sustained minor damage, which may have cost him faster lap times afterward. “It happened quickly, but everything is still very close,” the Italian said confidently. Antonelli will definitely not start from pole position in his home race at Monza. Mercedes announced an engine swap for the Grand Prix weekend in early September following the Zandvoort race, which will result in a grid penalty.

Max Verstappen(Bild: AFP/SIMON WOHLFAHRT)

Tough Qualifying for Verstappen
As expected, Verstappen’s home weekend—his last for the time being—got off to a difficult start. Eleventh place in free practice was followed by sixth place in the Sprint Qualifying, more than half a second behind. His interim teammate Liam Lawson, who is standing in for Isack Hadjar—who is out with a wrist injury—in the Red Bull, finished eleventh and failed to advance to the qualifying final. Starting ahead of him in tenth and behind him in twelfth are the Racing Bulls of Arvid Lindblad and Yuki Tsunoda, Lawson’s replacement on the Bulls’ Italian satellite team.