McLaren recover to take pole after difficult Sprint

McLaren arrived at Zandvoort with momentum from Hungary but the Sprint told a different story. Norris led early before medium tyres lost rear grip, allowing Charles Leclerc to pass for second and leaving him to fend off a rapid Kimi Antonelli. Oscar Piastri lost out to Antonelli on the opening lap and finished fifth in an isolated Sprint.

McLaren worked on the car overnight and the changes paid off in Qualifying. Norris was supremely confident, taking his second consecutive P1 start with a 1:11.163. Piastri was close but could not match the final Q3 pace and settled for fourth.

“I’m very happy to be on Pole for the second time in a row,” Norris said. “Today, the main difference was the driving; my final lap was one where I was just fully committed… that attacking mentality paid off and gives us the best possible starting position.”

Piastri added: “A reasonable day overall across both sessions… the car felt good and it is encouraging to know that we are making progress and can compete at the sharp end.”

Team principal Andrea Stella said the team made “reasonable number of changes” between Sprint and Qualifying to improve low-speed grip and reduce rear axle demand. “It looks like the first target has been achieved, because the changes helped us in Qualifying and the car performed very well.”

Mercedes split the front row, Antonelli close

George Russell converted Sprint pole into a controlled Sprint win, managing tyres to take an unchallenged victory and close in on his team-mate in the championship. Antonelli picked off Piastri on lap one and nearly caught Norris, showing strong race pace.

In Qualifying Russell grabbed second with a 1:11.265, narrowly missing pole after a small mistake in the second half of his final lap.

“It was a controlled race where I was mainly managing the tyres and the gap behind,” Russell said. “In the afternoon, it was an intense end to Qualifying… I think pole position was possible.”

Antonelli qualified third, 0.031s behind Russell, after a Turn 1 error cost him two tenths. “It’s a shame because we had a real shot for pole,” he said.

Ferrari split on set-up, Verstappen limited

Leclerc was the only top runner to start the Sprint on softs and made it pay with a pass on Norris for second. Hamilton spent the Sprint behind Max Verstappen on mediums and could not find a way past.

Qualifying cooled conditions and Ferrari dropped back. Hamilton out-qualified Leclerc 5th to 6th, praising the “unbelievable” improvement after set-up changes: “The difference it makes in the car is unbelievable.”

Leclerc was less satisfied, citing engine mode changes and a preparation lap approach. “To start P6 is less than ideal. We’ll have to maximise the start.”

Red Bull struggled for one-lap pace. Max Verstappen felt he left nothing on the table but was limited by balance: “I didn’t really feel like I left anything on the table, it’s just not where I wanted to be.” Liam Lawson qualified eighth, just over a tenth behind Verstappen, after reaching Q3.

Midfield round-up

Pierre Gasly scored a point for Alpine with eighth in the Sprint but missed Q3 by a tenth, qualifying 11th. Franco Colapinto rose to 14th after a good recovery session.

Audi’s Gabriel Bortoleto qualified ninth as best of the rest, while Nico Hulkenberg was 13th after a power unit issue in the Sprint. Racing Bulls’ Arvid Lindblad continued his strong weekend with tenth, and Yuki Tsunoda was 12th.