George Russell put Mercedes on pole for the Dutch Grand Prix sprint at Zandvoort, beating Lando Norris by 0.041 seconds with Charles Leclerc 0.055 seconds off pole. Russell's top time was his first pole in four races, and he is 0.227 seconds quicker than Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli, who leads the championship by 59 points. Antonelli could only manage fifth after running off into the gravel in the first session and suffering floor damage he said cost about 25 points of downforce. Max Verstappen qualified sixth, with Lewis Hamilton seventh and Pierre Gasly eighth, Alpine running a major aerodynamic upgrade. Russell said the lap "felt really good" and called the result a perfect start to the second part of the season, while warning the main qualifying will remain decisive. The sprint race on Saturday, at roughly a third of grand prix distance, gives Russell an immediate chance to cut into Antonelli's advantage before main qualifying and the grand prix.
