ZANDVOORT, The Netherlands — George Russell returned from the summer break in style as he secured pole position for the Zandvoort Sprint ahead of Sunday’s Dutch Grand Prix.
The Mercedes driver led McLaren’s Lando Norris and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in a close-fought session.
It looked like any of the top three teams could snatch the top spot after they each set the pace in the various stages of Sprint Qualifying, but it was Russell who prevailed with a lap time of 1 minute and 11.567 seconds.
That was enough to edge out Norris and Leclerc, with the second McLaren of Oscar Piastri only fractionally further behind in fourth place.
Kimi Antonelli rounded out the top-five qualifiers for Mercedes, finishing around two-tenths adrift of his teammate.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen was sixth, ahead of Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton, Pierre Gasly (Alpine), Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi) and Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls).
