Norris snatches Dutch GP pole from Russell as championship leader Antonelli takes third

Lando Norris secured pole position for the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort on Saturday, beating George Russell by 0.102 seconds in a rain-interrupted Q3 session to claim his second pole of the 2026 Formula 1 season. Championship leader Kimi Antonelli qualified third for Mercedes, 0.133 seconds off the pace, with McLaren’s Oscar Piastri fourth.

McLaren had topped every session across the Zandvoort weekend heading into qualifying, and Norris underlined that dominance by setting provisional pole on his first Q3 run with a 1m11.344s — 0.151s clear of Russell, with Piastri two tenths back in third at that stage.

The picture shifted when rain began to fall on the seaside circuit with five minutes remaining, prompting a rush of cars back onto the track for final flying laps. Norris and Russell emerged from the pitlane simultaneously and were seen racing each other on their out-laps before the decisive runs. Norris crossed the line first, improving to a 1m11.163s, while Russell also found time but could only manage a 1m11.265s — enough to displace Antonelli from second but not to overhaul the reigning world champion.

Lewis Hamilton will start fifth for Ferrari, 0.331 seconds off pole, alongside team-mate Charles Leclerc in sixth. Max Verstappen qualified seventh for Red Bull, 0.455 seconds behind Norris, and will share the fourth row with temporary team-mate Liam Lawson, who is standing in for the injured Isack Hadjar.

Gabriel Bortoleto took ninth for Audi, while Racing Bulls rookie Arvid Lindblad rounded out the top ten — his fifth consecutive Q3 appearance, a remarkable run for the young driver.

Pierre Gasly missed Q3 by a tenth to qualify 11th for Alpine, alongside Yuki Tsunoda in 12th on the Racing Bulls stand-in’s return to the F1 grid. Nico Hulkenberg’s late improvement placed him 13th, pushing Franco Colapinto to 14th and Esteban Ocon to 15th — notably the first time since the Miami-Imola-Monaco stretch in May last year that Ocon has outqualified team-mate Oliver Bearman on consecutive occasions.

Carlos Sainz suffered a second straight Q1 exit, taking 17th on the weekend Williams confirmed he has signed a contract extension with the team. Alex Albon also failed to progress from Q1, ending up 16th.

Aston Martin showed encouraging signs from its upgraded engine and chassis package, though the team acknowledged ongoing drivability challenges remain to be resolved.