George Russell secures pole position at Dutch GP Sprint ahead of McLaren
Yahoo Sports • 1 min read • Latest: Aug 21, 2026, 9:30 PM
Last updated Aug 21, 2026
George Russell of Mercedes clinched pole position for the Dutch Grand Prix Sprint at Circuit Zandvoort with a lap time of 1:11.567. Lando Norris of McLaren finished second at 1:11.608, while teammate Oscar Piastri took fourth with 1:11.666. McLaren drivers attributed their slight gap in timing to the performance of the soft tires used in qualifying. Norris expressed satisfaction with their qualifying results despite being just 0.041 seconds behind Russell. Both drivers are focusing on setup and performance improvements for tomorrow's race.
- •Russell achieved pole position with a 1:11.567 lap time.
- •Norris was just 0.041 seconds behind Russell in second place.
- •Piastri qualified fourth, 0.099 seconds off the pole.
- •McLaren drivers cited soft tire performance as a factor in timing.
- •Norris anticipates challenges with overtaking on the Zandvoort circuit.
- 9:30 PMYahoo Sports — McLaren Blames Soft Tires for Missing Dutch GP Sprint Pole as Russell Edges Norris
"A tenth of a second separated Mercedes from both McLarens at Circuit Zandvoort, and McLaren’s drivers believe the missing time was sitting in the soft tires. Mercedes’ George Russell secured pole position for the Dutch Grand Prix Sprint on Friday…
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