Late on August 21, China Standard Time (UTC+8), Sprint Qualifying for the Dutch Grand Prix, Round 12 of the 2026 F1 season, took place at Zandvoort, with George Russell (Mercedes) claiming his third Sprint pole of the season. Lando Norris (McLaren) finished second, 0.041 seconds behind, while Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) was third, 0.055 seconds adrift.
Oscar Piastri (McLaren) placed fourth, 0.099 seconds off the pace, leaving the top four covered by less than a tenth. Yuki Tsunoda (Racing Bulls), returning to competitive action after eight months away, reached SQ2 and finished 12th. For Aston Martin-Honda, which had introduced upgrades to both its chassis and power unit (PU), both cars suffered an early exit in SQ1.
In stark contrast to the overcast conditions during first practice, blue skies stretched over Zandvoort for Sprint Qualifying. With conditions having changed significantly, the session to decide the grid for the 100-kilometre Sprint got under way.
Sprint Qualifying uses a special format: SQ1 lasts 12 minutes and SQ2 lasts 10 minutes, with only new medium tyres permitted in both. Only soft tyres may be used in the eight-minute SQ3. The slowest six drivers are eliminated in each of SQ1 and SQ2, leaving 10 to fight for Sprint pole.
Drivers’ championship leader Andrea Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes), who had topped first practice, ran into the gravel at Turn 13 shortly after SQ1 began. His car’s floor was damaged, costing him 25 points of downforce, but he ultimately finished Sprint Qualifying fifth, 0.227 seconds behind Russell.
Max Verstappen (Red Bull), who had finished outside the top 10 in first practice, improved to sixth, followed by Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) in seventh.
With Lawson moving up to Red Bull to replace the absent Hadjar, Tsunoda stepped in at Racing Bulls. On his first push lap in SQ1, he was 0.427 seconds slower than team-mate Arvid Lindblad, with a particularly large gap opening up in the third sector.
He made a small improvement to his personal best on his second push lap, but the gap to Lindblad grew to 0.433 seconds. Even so, he advanced to SQ2 in 13th place—reaching the second segment in his very first qualifying appearance since returning.
With only one opportunity for a push lap in SQ2, he set outright fastest times in some sectors and reduced his deficit to Lindblad to 0.360 seconds. However, he fell short of reaching SQ3 and ultimately finished 12th.
With Hadjar watching from the garage, his stand-in Lawson set the sixth-fastest time in SQ1, ahead of Verstappen. He finished SQ2 in 11th, however, just 0.009 seconds ahead of fellow stand-in Tsunoda.
For Aston Martin-Honda, which had introduced upgrades to both its chassis and PU, the result was a harsh one: Lance Stroll finished 19th and Fernando Alonso 22nd, with both cars eliminated in SQ1.
Alonso suffered a heavy lock-up on entry to Turn 14 on his first push lap. He had been 12th in first practice, but his final push lap also failed to produce the time needed to reach SQ2, leaving him last.
According to the team, Alonso’s car suffered a fault that prevented the rear wing’s Straight Mode (SM) from activating, directly causing his SQ1 elimination. Both cars were also hampered by PU-related driveability issues.
Pierre Gasly (Alpine) led the midfield in eighth. Alpine had brought just one set of its new aerodynamic package to this event and fitted it to Gasly’s car.
Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi) finished ninth, just 0.005 seconds behind Gasly, while Lindblad completed the top 10.
Franco Colapinto (Alpine), driving the older-specification A526, finished 13th, followed by Nico Hülkenberg (Audi) in 14th, Esteban Ocon (Haas) in 15th and Alexander Albon (Williams) in 16th.
Oliver Bearman (Haas) was eliminated in SQ1 in 17th, missing out on SQ2 by 0.110 seconds, with Carlos Sainz (Williams) next in 18th.
Alonso’s technical problem meant neither Cadillac finished last: Valtteri Bottas placed 20th and Sergio Pérez 21st.
The formation lap for the Sprint will begin on the evening of August 22, China Standard Time (UTC+8), with the drivers set to battle for Sprint points over 24 laps of the 4,259-metre Zandvoort circuit.
| Position | Car No. | Driver | Team | SQ1 Time | SQ2 Time | SQ3 Time | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1:13.278 | 1:12.235 | 1:11.567 | 17 |
| 2 | 1 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 1:13.071 | 1:12.189 | 1:11.608 | 15 |
| 3 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:13.011 | 1:12.190 | 1:11.622 | 16 |
| 4 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | 1:13.126 | 1:12.026 | 1:11.666 | 15 |
| 5 | 12 | Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | 1:13.668 | 1:12.511 | 1:11.794 | 15 |
| 6 | 3 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing | 1:13.585 | 1:12.771 | 1:12.094 | 15 |
| 7 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | 1:13.151 | 1:12.445 | 1:12.191 | 15 |
| 8 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | 1:13.977 | 1:12.720 | 1:12.578 | 12 |
| 9 | 5 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Audi | 1:13.730 | 1:12.786 | 1:12.583 | 12 |
| 10 | 41 | Arvid Lindblad | Racing Bulls | 1:14.057 | 1:12.785 | 1:12.737 | 15 |
| 11 | 30 | Liam Lawson | Red Bull Racing | 1:13.420 | 1:13.136 | — | 13 |
| 12 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | Racing Bulls | 1:14.490 | 1:13.145 | — | 11 |
| 13 | 43 | Franco Colapinto | Alpine | 1:14.618 | 1:13.439 | — | 9 |
| 14 | 27 | Nico Hülkenberg | Audi | 1:14.284 | 1:13.616 | — | 13 |
| 15 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Haas | 1:14.503 | 1:13.893 | — | 12 |
| 16 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Williams | 1:14.596 | 1:14.294 | — | 12 |
| 17 | 87 | Oliver Bearman | Haas | 1:14.728 | — | — | 6 |
| 18 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | Williams | 1:14.738 | — | — | 7 |
| 19 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | 1:15.391 | — | — | 5 |
| 20 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Cadillac | 1:15.472 | — | — | 7 |
| 21 | 11 | Sergio Pérez | Cadillac | 1:15.545 | — | — | 7 |
| 22 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | 1:16.014 | — | — | 5 |
