2026 F1 Round 12, Dutch Grand Prix Sprint: Russell dominates to take victory

In the early evening of August 22, China Standard Time (UTC+8), the Sprint at the Dutch Grand Prix, Round 12 of the 2026 F1 season, took place at Zandvoort. George Russell (Mercedes) led from pole to the chequered flag to take victory. Yuki Tsunoda (Racing Bulls) lost a place on the opening lap and finished his first race back in 13th.

Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) finished second, with Lando Norris (McLaren) third. The top seven formed a large group, opening up a huge gap to the cars from eighth place down. Two cars suffered technical problems during the race, with one failing to reach the chequered flag.

Most drivers chose medium tyres for the start, while Leclerc, starting third, opted for softs, as did Oliver Bearman (Haas).

In the closing stages, second-placed Norris began to struggle with rear-tyre degradation. With seven laps remaining, Leclerc attacked at Turn 1 and passed Norris to move into second.

Leclerc then chased Russell but was unable to threaten the race leader. Russell took the chequered flag first, with Leclerc finishing 1.360 seconds behind.

Norris defended hard against the increasingly close Andrea Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) in the closing stages, holding on to third by 0.385 seconds.

Starting from 12th on the grid, Tsunoda was passed by Franco Colapinto (Alpine) on the opening lap and dropped to 13th.

He remained behind Colapinto thereafter and was unable to regain the position. Temporarily called up as a substitute and experiencing a 2026 car for the first time, Tsunoda thus ended his first race back in 13th, one place down on his starting position.

Oscar Piastri (McLaren), who started fourth, was passed by Antonelli at Turn 1 immediately after the start and finished fifth. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) was sixth, with Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) seventh.

Pierre Gasly (Alpine) claimed the final point, beating Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi) to eighth, but finished a huge 30.322 seconds behind seventh-placed Hamilton. Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls) rounded out the top 10.

Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin-Honda) and Carlos Sainz (Williams) changed their suspension settings under parc fermé conditions before the Sprint.

Both were ordered to start from the pit lane for breaching Article B3.5.4 of the F1 regulations.

Alonso, who qualified 22nd in Sprint Qualifying, began the race at the back of the field. He immediately passed Sainz before working his way past Valtteri Bottas (Cadillac) and other rivals.

He ultimately finished 18th, immediately behind team-mate Lance Stroll, making him the race’s biggest mover with a gain of four places.

Sergio Pérez (Cadillac) suffered a technical problem before the start and was unable to take his place on the grid. He was already two laps down when he started from the pit lane. He continued running and finished last in 21st.

Although Nico Hülkenberg (Audi) made it onto the grid, he suffered a significant loss of performance and fell from 14th to the back of the field.

With no improvement in the situation, he was forced to retire on lap six.

Late on the night of August 22, China Standard Time (UTC+8), qualifying took place at the same circuit.