George Russell put Mercedes on pole for the Dutch Grand Prix sprint at Zandvoort, clocking a lap 0.041 seconds quicker than McLaren's Lando Norris and 0.055 seconds clear of Ferrari's Charles Leclerc. The pole was Russell's first top spot in four races and came as he seeks to claw back championship points from teammate Kimi Antonelli, who leads the standings by 59 points but could only manage fifth after going off into the gravel and suffering floor damage. Oscar Piastri was fourth, Max Verstappen sixth and Lewis Hamilton seventh; Pierre Gasly was eighth on Alpine's aerodynamic upgrade, Audi's Gabriel Bortoleto ninth and Racing Bulls' Arvid Lindblad tenth. Russell said the lap “felt really good” and called the session a confidence boost, while Norris said he was slightly disappointed not to extract more from the soft tyres. Antonelli blamed a floor damage issue and an error into the final corner for his result, and Hamilton said the car felt very different into qualifying and the team must work out what went wrong. Liam Lawson, standing in for Isack Hadjar after the Frenchman broke his wrist boxing, qualified 11th.
