George Russell on pole, Kimi Antonelli only in the third row
George Russell took the Sprint pole at Zandvoort. The British Mercedes driver set the time of one minute, 11 seconds, and 567 thousandths, with a 41-thousandths lead over Lando Norris. Charles Leclerc posted the third-fastest time, setting the pace for the Ferraris ahead of Oscar Piastri’s other McLaren, while the third row features Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Max Verstappen. Behind them are Lewis Hamilton and Pierre Gasly, with Gabriel Bortoleto and Arvid Lindblad rounding out the top ten.
The second half of the starting grid begins with the 11th row, led by Liam Lawson in the Red Bull usually driven by Isack Hadjar (the first driver eliminated in SQ2) and rounded out by the returning Yuki Tsunoda behind the wheel of the very same Racing Bull vacated by the New Zealander. Behind them on the seventh row are Franco Colapinto (Alpine-Mercedes) and Nico Hülkenberg in the Audi. Starting from the eighth row will be Esteban Ocon in the Haas-Ferrari and Alexander Albon (Williams-Mercedes).
Seventeenth-fastest and on the inside of the ninth row for Oliver Bearman, the first driver eliminated in SQ1 with his Haas-Ferrari. Next to him is Carlos Sainz in his Williams. Behind them are Lance Stroll in the “fastest” of the Aston Martin-Hondas and Valtteri Bottas in the Cadillac powered by a Ferrari power unit. The eleventh and final row goes to Carlos Perez in the other American car and Fernando Alonso, who was much faster following his strong performance (twelfth-fastest) in late-morning free practice with the revamped Aston Martin.
